Redemption
by Shattered Images
Summary: Yuna left Besaid because her best friend turned on her during Freshman year for some reason. Three years later, she has to move back to Besaid and has to face her past. Will she be pushed back into old ways, or will she stand up and stand strong?
1. Chelsea Smile

**Redemption**

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**Inspirational Song – Chelsea Smile by Bring Me the Horizon**

I've got a secret.  
It's on the tip of my tongue, it's on the back of my lungs.  
And I'm gonna keep it.  
I know something you don't know.

It sits in silence, eats away at me.  
It feeds like cancer. This guilt could fill a fucking sea.  
Pulling teeth, wolves at my door.  
Now falling and failing is all I know.

This disease is getting worse.  
I counted my blessings, now I'll count this curse.  
The only thing I really know: I can't sleep at night.  
I'm buried and breathing in regret.  
Yeah!  
The only thing I really know: I can't sleep at night.  
I'm buried and breathing in regret.

I've got a secret.  
It's on the tip of my tongue, it's on the back of my lungs.  
And I'm gonna keep it.  
I know something you don't know.

I've got a secret.  
It's on the tip of my tongue, it's on the back of my lungs.  
And I'm gonna keep it.  
I know something you don't know.

I may look happy, but honestly dear,  
the only way I'll really smile is if you cut me ear to ear.  
I see the vultures, they watch me bleed.  
They lick their lips, as all the shame spills out of me.

Repent! Repent! The end is nigh!  
Repent! Repent! We're all gonna die!  
Repent! Repent! These secrets will kill us!  
So get on your knees, and pray for...

Repent! Repent! The end is nigh!  
Repent! Repent! We're all gonna die!  
Repent! Repent! These secrets will kill us!  
So get on your knees, and pray for forgiveness!

We all carry these things inside that no one else can see.  
They hold us down like anchors. They drown us out at sea.  
I look up to the sky, there may be nothing there to see.  
But if I don't believe in him, why would he believe in me?  
Why would he believe in me?  
Why would he believe in me?  
Why would he believe in me?  
Why would he believe in me?

I've got a secret.  
It's on the tip of my tongue, it's on the back of my lungs.  
And I'm gonna keep it.  
I know something you don't know.

I've got a secret.  
It's on the tip of my tongue, it's on the back of my lungs.  
And I'm gonna keep it.  
I know something you will never know.  
You will never know.  
I know something you don't know

* * *

_Chapter One – Chelsea Smile_

"Mom please." I begged her for the umpteenth time. I couldn't believe she was doing this to me, she knew how I felt about that place. My mother rolled her eyes and told the movers to be more delicate with our possessions.

"Yuna, you know how important this is for your father." Was her reply. I blinked away tears of frustration and got into the backseat of our car. _Stop it_, I told myself. _Don't be so selfish. Suck it up and face your past. Do it for dad. _I remembered the look on my dad's face when I agreed to move back to Besaid. He looked so... happy. I haven't seen that look on his face for a while.

My parents got into the car, mom being in the passengers' seat and dad being in the drivers' and started the car. My dad sighed happily and pulled out of the driveway looking over his right shoulder in case of any oncoming cars. He looked at me and stopped the car immediately.

"Yuna, what's wrong?" He asked. I shot him a look of confusion. "You're crying." He pointed out. _Crap! _"Oh it's nothing father, I guess I'm just a little homesick already." I answered. He turned as far as he could to face me and stared right into my eyes. "Yuna, you know we don't have to go if you don't want to." He sincerely said. I shook my head as hard as I could, trying to force the tears out of my eyes. "No! I want to go! I don't even know why I'm crying!" My dad gave me a warm smile and turned on the car, initialing the start of our ride towards our destination. Besaid.

Mother was actually the only one I told about what happened Freshman year, we mutually decided to leave my father out of this. He was a little... overprotective. The other people who knew about it, I hadn't spoken to since I moved. Rikku, Wakka, Lulu, Gippal... my best friends. I refused to think about _him_, I couldn't think about _him_. _He_ was the damn reason I left in the first place! I stopped thinking about _him_ and pulled out my iPod Touch. Music was literally my life now, I don't know how I could live without it. It was there for me when I needed it most. I scrolled down my songs and settled on one of my all-time favorites. I closed my eyes and put the volume to max.

"Yuna, stop listening to that satanic music." My mother said as she heard Mike Hranica's... singing burst through my earphones.

"Mother, The Devil Wears Prada is a Christian band." I replied, opening my eyes. My father burst out laughing.

"Honey, keep your eyes on the road. Yuna, don't be such a smart-ass." My mother snapped.

"Yes ma'am." I replied, my father chuckled once and quieted under my mother's glare. _I guess we all know who wears the pants in this relationship. _I thought to myself. As I heard Jeremy DePoyster's angelic voice join Mike in the chorus, I closed my eyes and let them both lull me into numbness. This five-hour drive might not be _that _bad. If I kept on listening to music, I figured anything that may come in the near future might not be as bad. Music kept me from thinking about things I didn't want to think about.

* * *

"Yuna..." I felt someone lightly shake me.

_There's a place that I've found  
As far as I can see  
This place lies within  
The depths of my dreams_

"Yuna!" A harder shake came as I slipped back into consciousness.

_In a garden surrounded  
By fire and trees  
Through the smoke a silhouette I can barely see  
There's a man with an axe  
Standing in the rain_

I paused my music and opened my eyes, only to close them as soon as the bright white light burned my eyes. I sat up and realized I wasn't in the car. I looked around and noticed all of my possessions were unpacked and neatly placed in their place. Even the furniture was in it's place. I looked at my mom questioningly.

"Your father and I decided to let you sleep. He carried you to your room and I unpacked your things for you." I gave my mother a warm smile and gave her a hug.

"You don't have to go through this alone, you know." She whispered into my ear. I smiled.

"I know." I whispered. She pulled back and kept her hands on my shoulders. She looked around and smirked. "Well, since this is our old house, there's no need for a tour, is there?" I shook my head and combed my hand through my hair, yanking through the tangles. My mother dismissed herself and gave me some privacy. I silently thanked her and went to the bathroom attached to my room to take a shower. Placing my iPod on their speakers, I unpaused my song and continued listening to Escape the Fate.

I stripped myself of my clothing and stepped in the shower, letting the warm water relieve my knotted muscles. After about five minutes, I decided to stop wasting water and commenced with my shower. Ten minutes later, I turned off the water and was greeted with Chiodos, one of my favorite bands. I wrapped a towel around myself and went to get a change of clothes. I grabbed the first huge shirt I could see and put it on after my undergarments were in place. I looked at myself through the mirror and started combing my hair, ridding it of all tangles. When I finished, I placed a hand on my belly and turned to the side, trying to find any fat that needed to go. Memories of the past rushed through my head. I violently shook my head to clear away the bad memories. When I finally convinced myself I was absolutely fine, I grabbed my iPod and left the bathroom. I glanced at the clock and my mouth literally dropped when I saw that it was midnight. I plugged in my cellphone and my iPod to their chargers and laid on my bed, contemplating about tomorrow's upcoming events. School. Just the thought of school sent shivers down my spine.

* * *

I dreamt about _him _again. I basically relived the day my life went to Hell. Again. How _he_ made my life miserable and just broke my heart into a million fucking pieces. _He_ was my best friend, I considered _him_ to be like the brother I never had but always wanted... how could _he_ do that to me? What did I ever do to _him_ to make _him_ turn on me like that. That didn't matter anymore. I hate _him_ now. Nothing will ever change that.

_Whoever invented alarm clocks can just kiss my ass. _I thought as I slammed the snooze button and walked to the bathroom, groaning when I realized I had bed hair. I took my hair straightener and dealt with my little problem, trying to keep my mind off of today. When I was pleased with my hair I picked out a change of clothing. A pair of black skinny jeans with a shirt from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and a pair of black converse. I went to the mirror and put on a coat of mascara and black eyeliner. I'm not emo, but I liked wearing a dark clothing... a lot. I winked at myself and decided I was ready to go to school.

I shouted quick good-byes to my parents and started walking to school. I pulled out my iPod and just let the shuffle button work it's magic. Tears Don't Fall by Bullet For My Valentine was the first song to burst through my earphones and I smiled. I loved that song.

"Hey!" Someone called out from behind me. I turned around and almost cried when I saw one of my old best friends, Lulu approach me. She was even more beautiful than before, if that's even possible. She wore a pair of black skinny jeans, like mine, and a pair of black converse, like mine. The only difference was that she had a Bring Me The Horizon shirt. It was so bad-ass. Her hair was still done the same since Freshman year. I always loved how her bangs covered her half of her face but she could still make every girl feel self conscious about their own looks.

"Hello." I replied, figuring that she didn't recognize me. I felt a little hurt that she didn't remember me but I couldn't blame her, I left so suddenly... without even saying goodbye. To any of them, minus the asshole. I didn't care for him.

"Is that Bullet For My Valentine you're listening to, by any chance?" She asked. I smiled widely and nodded my head.

"They're a kick-ass band," she stated and stretched out her hand. "I'm Lulu." I took her hand and shook it, "I'm... Yuna." I saw the smile fade off of her face and her mouth dropped. She looked at my attire and finally looked straight into my eyes. "Yuna!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around me. "I didn't recognize you, I'm so sorry..." She trailed off as she finally released me from her death grip. "How are you?" She asked me.

I sighed and answered. "I'm fine, thanks. But enough about me! Fill me in on all the details I've missed since I was gone!"

As we were walking to school, she told me about everyone... except for one person. Rikku and Gippal have finally declared themselves as an item in Sophomore year, and it seems as though Lulu has a little crush on someone. She wouldn't tell me who, but I had a pretty good idea as to who she was referring to. Wakka. The four of them ate lunch together every day, just like old times, minus me and... him. When we reached the school, I stopped and examined the familiar environment. Lulu had already dismissed herself to go talk to Rikku, whom I still have yet to talk to. I had to go to the main office and get my schedule anyways. I was so into looking at my old high school that I hadn't noticed someone walk right into me. He was texting and dropped his phone. _Nice way to start the day, Yuna._ I thought to myself.

I quickly bent down to pick up his phone and handed it to the person, apologizing sincerely. I finally looked at him and made eye contact with warm, cerulean eyes. Recognition passed them and within seconds, his eyes were cold and showed nothing but hatred for the person in front of them. Me. I immediately knew who he was and I just stood there, frozen in place and speechless.

_...Tidus..._

**Author's Note - It seems I have some explaining to do about my other story, Monster. The reason I haven't been uploading is pretty lame actually, I'm stumped! I don't know how to write my story, I've re-written it about four times and I'm _still _unhappy with it! I need some help... any tips might be useful...**

**Ok, I know the story might be confusing at the moment, but it's something that's been going through my head for a while and I decided to make a Fanfic on it. So.. tah-dah! Here it is! I don't know if I should continue this story... if enough people tell me to, then I guess I will! The story will clear up in a couple of chapters, so you're not going to be stumped for long.**

**As for the music used in this chapter... Yes, I actually listen to _that _kind of music. I can't help it, it just makes sense!**

**Here's a list of the songs I used in this chapter:**

**- Hey John, What's Your Name Again by The Devil Wears Prada**

**- My Apocalypse by Escape the Fate**

**- There's No Penguins In Alaska by Chiodos**

**- Tears Don't Fall by Bullet For My Valentine**

**Anyway, please tell me what you thought about this chapter, if I should continue it... if I should quit. If you loved it, liked it, or absolutely hated it. Please, your opinions matter deeply to me. Thanks for reading!**

**- Shattered Images**

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	2. The Day I Left the Womb

**Redemption**

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**Inspirational Song – The Day I Left the Womb by Escape the Fate**

Mother, where are you today?  
You took a piece of me the day you went away,  
No recollection or the smell of your perfume,  
I took a piece of you the day I left the womb.

Brother, put your needles down.  
The best thing for you is to leave this awful town.  
Pretty soon, you'll have kids to feed.  
If you see mother, tell her I can sing.

Please don't worry, I am doing fine.  
You're much to busy, to even find the time,  
So use your chemicals and take this to your grave,  
The boys you left are men you didn't raise.

And daddy, how are you today?  
You must be proud of the boys that you have raised.  
Your withered heart, and everything its seen,  
Your guts and calluses, you had kids to feed.  
You had kids to feed.

Please don't worry, I am doing fine.  
You're much to busy, to even find the time,  
So use your chemicals and take this to your grave,  
The boys you left are men you didn't raise.

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

_I quickly bent down to pick up his phone and handed it to the person, apologizing sincerely. I finally looked at him and made eye contact with warm, cerulean eyes. Recognition passed them and within seconds, his eyes were cold and showed nothing but hatred for the person in front of them. Me. I immediately knew who he was and I just stood there, frozen in place and speechless._

_...Tidus..._

* * *

_Chapter Two – The Day I Left the Womb_

I felt sick to my stomach, like I needed a release when I was staring into the eyes I hated so much. The familiar churning in my stomach made me want to beat the crap out of him. Even though I just wanted to poke them out, staring into these eyes made me realize just exactly how much I missed them. How much I missed _him_. He snatched his phone out of my hand and walked around me, without uttering a word to me.

"You're welcome." I called over my shoulder. He just kept on walking. "Ass." I muttered under my breath. I was proud of myself for not once thinking about going to the bathroom although I was very close to puking.

I made my way to the main office, smirking internally whenever someone did a double take when they saw me. I opened the door and almost walked right back out. Sitting right there, in the detention chair, was Dona. Tidus' accomplice and girlfriend... well, they were still together when I moved out. She looked up immediately when the door opened so there was no turning back now. She looked over my outfit and raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else. _She might not recognize me either. _I thought to myself. The secretary looked up and smiled warmly at me, I made my way up to her desk and requested my schedule.

"Yes, you're... Yuna Vie right?" She asked. I felt Dona's eyes stare into my back. I nodded and took my schedule from the secretary's hand. I thanked her and walked out of the office, feeling Dona's glare burn a hole into my back. I leaned against the wall next to the door and looked at my schedule.

_Yuna Vie_

_First Period: English 7 Honors – Shelinda – Room 125 8:30 – 9:23_

_Homeroom: Kimahri – Rm 223 9:30 – 9:44_

_Second Period: Gym 7 – Auron – GYM 9:51 – 10:43_

_Third Period: AP Calculus – Shinra – Rm 304 10:50 – 11:42_

_Lunch 11:42 – 12:20_

_Fourth Period: Chemistry 1 Honors – Tromell – Rm 211 12:27 – 1:19_

_Fifth Period: History 5 Honors – Maechen – Rm 104 1:26 – 2:18_

_Sixth Period: Al Bhed 1 – Cid – Rm 301 2:25 – 3:20_

I finished examining my schedule and glanced at my iPod for the time. _Shit I'm ten minutes late for First Period! _I wanted to get to class early so I wouldn't have to introduce myself early... but I guess that's not going to happen. I scrolled down the list and settled on listening to my favorite band, Dance Gavin Dance. Jonny Craig's godly voice floated into my ears and sent them towards heaven and Jon Mess' vocals only increased the godliness of Jonny's voice. I started singing along with Jonny as I trudged towards First Period, wondering who's going to be in my classes.

I stood outside of the door and took a deep breath as I placed my hand on the cold brass handle. I slowly opened the door and entered the class. I felt so many eyes on me as I gave my slip to the teacher I was pretty sure I was the exact shade of a ripe tomato. Ms. Shelinda gave me my slip back and told me to sit in the empty desk all the way in the back. _Perfect._ I thought. I placed one ear bud in my left ear and decided to listen to some blessthefall. I covered my ear with my hair and set the music to a reasonable volume. Since school has started about a month ago, I didn't miss much, in fact I was actually ahead. We already learned this in Zanarkand so there was no point in listening for a while.

Ms. Shelinda was actually pretty nice, she didn't make me introduce myself in front of the class and she gave me a warning about listening to music in class when she caught me. When the bell rang, I gathered my things and left the classroom after everyone left. I didn't feel like going to Homeroom early. There was a group of people gathered around room 223 so I figured that the Homeroom teacher wasn't in class yet. I pulled out my phone and realized that I had a text message. It was from my best friend back at ZHS, Lenne. She wrote:

_Yuna! I miss you so much! I have so much to tell you! Call me when you get out of school. Love you. - Lenne_

Lenne was there for me when I first entered ZHS. I wasn't in the best of conditions when I transferred in and she was the one to actually be there for me and give me advice. I didn't actually tell her the whole story between Tidus and I, but she had somewhat of an idea as to what happened. She didn't pressure me to tell her, and for that I was eternally grateful. I sent her an 'I miss you too and I'll call you ASAP.' in return and saw a blur of gold as I looked around. _Him_. I felt a familiar churning in my stomach and tears of frustration once more pricked at my eyes. I covered the bile that rose in my throat and raced to the nearest bathroom.

Once I reached the bathroom, I kicked open the nearest stall and spit out everything that was in my mouth and stomach. I couldn't believe he still had this effect on me. I hadn't realized that there was someone else in the bathroom until that person spoke up.

"Hello? Excuse me are you ok?" Asked the high pitched voice. I recognized that voice anywhere. Rikku. The door to the stall opened and there standing in front of me was my other best friend. I raised my eyes to meet hers and she gasped, recognizing me right away.

"Yuna! It's actually you! Lulu told me you were here but I didn't believe her." She enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug and asked me if I was ok. Tears started to freely fall down my cheeks. I didn't even bother trying to stop them.

"I don't know if I can do this Rikku. One look at him and this is what happened." I motioned towards the puke-covered toilet. She flushed the toilet to erase all evidence of bile.

"You don't have to do this alone, you know." She said, repeating the exact same thing my mom told me last night. I gave her the same reply I told my mom and pulled back from the hug. I walked to the sink and rinsed out my mouth, getting rid of any leftover puke that may be hiding in my mouth. I dug through my bag and found the bottle of breath spray I kept in the front pocket. I took three sprays to the mouth and checked my breath. It was fine. Rikku was watching the whole thing with glossy eyes. I didn't want her to cry for me. So I changed the subject automatically.

"So... who's your Homeroom teacher?" I asked while handing her my schedule. She seemed grateful for the change of topic and took my schedule.

"Wow Yunie, you're taking all of the smart classes! Hey, we have the same Homeroom teacher, and you're in the same Al Bhed class as I am! That's it though." She said, her face lighting up when she realized that we had some classes in common. I smiled at her and we started walking towards Homeroom.

"You know when you left, Tidus was a mess." Rikku said softly. This caught me off guard. I didn't know what to think. My heart felt all warm inside when I realized that I had this effect on him, but I also wanted him to suffer. Suffer like he had made me suffer. She looked at me expectantly and I have her a nod in reply. I didn't care anymore. I couldn't. The disappointment in my lame answer was apparent in her eyes.

We both entered Homeroom right on time and sat down at the nearest empty table we could find. Every other table except for the one right next to us was full. I looked towards the teachers desk and saw the teacher staring at me. He motioned for me to come to his desk. I told Rikku I'd be right back and headed towards the table. I approached him and handed him my slip. He signed it and gave it right back. He handed me another paper, it had my locker assignment and the combination.

Suddenly the door burst open and in came the biggest egotistical bastards. Tidus had his arm lazily draped over Dona's shoulders and she had one arm wrapped around his waist. It felt the bile rise in my throat again. _No!_ I told myself._ Take control, don't let him do this to you._ I thanked Mr. Kimahri and walked towards the table where Rikku was waiting for me. They were sitting at the empty table next to us. Dammit. I slipped an ear bud into my ear and played Pray For Plagues by Bring Me The Horizon to the max, I didn't care if anyone thought I was emo or suicidal. I wasn't. If there was one thing Lenne taught me, it was that I shouldn't care what people think of me, and that's exactly what I was doing.

I felt the ghastly couple's eyes on me and I knew they were planning something. I bet my iPod that Dona was going to try and trip me when I walked past them. Sure enough, Dona's leg extended as soon as I walked close to them. Instead of just stepping over her leg, I kicked it. It was something I had practiced in ZHS. I made it look like it was just another step in my path to the seat. Lenne would be proud. Dona retracted her leg and started rubbing the area that my foot had met with her leg. It was red and I was pretty sure that it was going to bruise.

I sat down at my seat next to Rikku who was looking at me with proud eyes. "Nice Yunie." She said, I gave her a wide smile in return. We spent the rest of the period planning out where we were going to meet for Lunch. We both settled on meeting at my locker. The bell rang and we both quickly exited the class, not once looking at the ghastly couple. It turns out that Rikku's locker is two down from mine, so we might see each other in between classes. I placed my iPod and my cellphone in my front pockets and placed my backpack and literature book in my locker. We both said our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions, she looked like she had something to say, I would ask her about it later. I headed towards the Gym while Rikku headed towards Pre-Cal. My favorite song from Parkway Drive erupted from my earphones and I sighed in ecstasy. I loved how music had the ability to make me feel invincible.

I saw Mr. Auron outside of the Gym and in his hands was a gym uniform. _Dammit, I thought I might be able to skip Gym today. _I thought. He pulled a ear bud out of my ear, which resulted me in blushing, and handed me the uniform. He also handed me a paper with my Gym locker and it's combination. "How's your father?" He asked.

"He's good! More than good actually, he just got a promotion and was sent here to Besaid for business." I replied. I appreciated the fact that Auron still cared for father, despite the long distance friendship. I dismissed myself to go change in the girl's locker room and was glad when I found that Lulu was in the same class as I was. But this was one of those bittersweet moments, the sweetness of having Lulu in my class almost died when she told me that Dona had the same class, along with _him._

"Whatever, I just won't let them bother me." I told her, and one of the rules I always go by is; I Keep True To My Word. Always. When I remembered my golden rule, I couldn't help but think of the past.

* * *

_6th Grade_

_I just got home from school, worried out of my wits because Tidus wasn't there today. I didn't know where he was, and that scared the hell out of me. He always told me if he wasn't going to be at school. I went up to my room and nearly screamed when I saw Tidus sitting on the floor, crying. I dropped my backpack and hugged him, relieved that he was ok, but worried because he was crying. He never cries. When he finally stopped crying, I asked him why he wasn't at school today._

"_My mom... was in a car accident... she didn't make it." He told me. I hugged him tighter and let a few tears fall myself._

"_I'm so sorry." I said after a while. He gave me a squeeze._

"_Just promise me Yuna. Promise me that you'll never leave me." He said, burying his face into my shirt._

"_I promise." I assured him. With all of my heart. We stayed up the whole night just hugging each other, letting a few tears ago once in a while._

* * *

"Hellooo, earth to Yuna." Came Lulu's voice as I snapped out of my trance. I shook my head of the painful memory and started changing for Gym. Lulu and I finished changing at the same time and we headed outside, where the guys were already there, stretching. Auron was telling the rest of the girls to hurry up and start stretching. When Lulu and I started to stretch I felt two arms wrap around me and lift me into the air. I screamed and thrashed around, afraid of the sudden attack. I was set on the floor and turned around to see the orange-headed teddy bear I missed dearly.

"Wakka!" I exclaimed as I hugged him with all of my strength. I was proud to say that he squirmed under the pressure.

"Whoa, you've gotten stronger, Yuna!" He observed. I just grinned. I was smiling a lot today, that was good.

"Ok guys, let's get started. Today we're gonna sprint." Shouted Auron. I heard all of the girls minus Lulu, Dona and I groan. We _loved _sprinting. We were going to run the 100-meter dash today. Girls against girls and guys against guys. The guys were going to run first. This was a small Gym class so there were five groups of three guys running against each other. I looked over at Dona and sure enough there was the sign of an upcoming bruise on her leg. I grinned.

It turns out that Wakka, Tidus, and this other boy with short brown hair were the last group of guys to run. I prayed with all of my heart that Wakka would win, although I knew that Tidus was a fast sprinter.

"Whoo! Go Wakka!" Both Lulu and I cheered as they got ready. Dona ran up to Tidus and gave him a big fat kiss on his mouth. I felt grossed out and somewhat intrusive, this was a private moment, it was rude to stare. Even though they shouldn't do that in public anyway.

"On your marks." The three of them kept their heads down. "Get set." They raised their butts into the air. Standard 100-meter procedure, so nothing was weird about that. "Go!" Yelled Auron. And the three of them sped off, towards the finish line. Wakka and Tidus were neck and neck, both of them matching in skill. Neither moving ahead of one another. The finish line approached and... the dude with the brown hair won. He actually WON! Everyone was speechless. Then suddenly, the whole Gym class erupted with applause and congratulations. I think that Tidus and Wakka both tied, it was a super-close race.

"Good job Max!" Yelled Auron. I saw in the distance that Wakka was shaking Max's hand and telling him what a good job he did. I looked at Lulu and she was still surprised. Auron placed us in groups of threes, just like the guys. Of course, I was placed with Dona and Lulu as my opponents. I didn't know who was going to win, but I was glad to say that I have gotten faster in the past two and a half years. Now that I'm not fat, at least. In Freshman year, Auron was my P.E teacher and made us do sprints. I was always third fastest, always behind Lulu and Dona. Neither girl was faster than the other, it would always be an alternate win. One day, Dona would win, the next day, Lulu would win. But I would always be third. Not this time though, I was determined to win first.

After the rest of the girls ran, it was finally time for my run. We all got into position. "On your marks." Auron yelled. I felt my heart thump loudly in my chest. "Get set!" I raised my butt into the air, my heart hammering at a tremendous speed now. "Go!" He roared. The three of us shot forward, running our fastest speed as we neared the finish line. I didn't want to look to the left of me, it would slow me down, but I couldn't see anyone in front of me so I figured that I was first. I kept up my speed and crossed the finish line, I was going so fast that I didn't see Tidus' leg sticking out right in front of me until I stumbled over it. I had to time this carefully, I placed my palm on the ground and pushed up with all of my strength. Then, I landed on my feet, perfectly. That fucking asshole tried to trip me. He tried to fucking trip me!

I turned around and was hugged by Wakka. "Congrats Yuna! You won, and Lu got second place! Dona's pretty pissed... how the hell did you flip like that when you were about to fall?" He asked, I was about to correct him and say that Tidus tripped me, but I decided against it. _Just ignore him, Yuna._ I reminded myself. Lulu hi-fived me and Auron said that it was almost time for the bell to ring. I couldn't help but think of the promise I made to Tidus. I promised him I would never leave... but he left me. Like I was a piece of garbage, he discarded me. I couldn't let him know that though, I had to prove to him that he can't bother me anymore.

I changed out of my Gym clothes with a huge smile on my face. This was the day that I've been dreaming about for a while. The day that I would show them up. Show them I'm not the same little Freshie that I was two and a half years ago. They may have treated me like shit before, but not anymore. That was a promise to myself and I wouldn't let this happen anymore. And Yuna's always true to her word.

* * *

**Author's Note** - **I had already written the first chapter yesterday, but I couldn't upload it because Fanfic wouldn't let me. I actually just finished writing this chapter. I would actually like to thank MinnieMouse8990 for being my first ever reviewer for this story. I would like to dedicate this chapter to you. I hope you like it!**

**And about the whole flipping thing when Tidus tripped Yuna, it has happened before. I've seen it happen with my own two eyes, and it was awesome. I've also seen the kick the person who's trying to trip you thing happen too, that was also sweet. And if you haven't figured it out all of them are Seniors in Highschool. And I also apologize for the confusion, everything will clear up. All in due time, I promise.**

**- Songs used for this chapter -**

**- Lemon Meringue Tie by Dance Gavin Dance**

**- Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad by blessthefall**

**- Pray For Plagues by Bring Me The Horizon**

**- It's Hard To Speak Without A Tongue by Parkway Drive**

**Thank you for reading! Please Review! Opinions matter, seriously.**

**- Shattered Images**


	3. A Letter From Janelle

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – A Letter From Janelle by Chiodos**

We make the sun shine, we make come on  
Move with me, move with me

Move with me, move with me

Don't you think I could tell that you were trying to, trying to  
Make a fool out of me, a fool out of me  
Don't you think I could tell that you were trying to, trying to  
Make a fool out of me, a fool out of me

So remember who you really are.

It's so easy to get lost in constantly having to present  
Whatever face you believe a person wants to see rather than your own.

Yet we hesitate to surrender all of our insecurities  
Move with me, move with me  
Only the ones we are most comfortable relinquishing  
Move with me, move with me

Don't you think I could tell that you were trying to, trying to  
Make a fool out of me, a fool out of me  
Don't you think I could tell that you were trying to, trying to  
Make a fool out of me, a fool out of me

Such a paradox,  
Isn't it, isn't it

Such a paradox,

Isn't it, isn't it

Such a paradox,

Isn't it, isn't it

Such a paradox,

Isn't it, isn't it

Such a paradox,

Isn't it, isn't it

Isn't it, isn't it

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

_I changed out of my Gym clothes with a huge smile on my face. This was the day that I've been dreaming about for a while. The day that I would show them up. Show them I'm not the same little Freshie that I was two and a half years ago. They may have treated me like shit before, but not anymore. That was a promise to myself and I wouldn't let this happen anymore. And Yuna's always true to her word._

* * *

_Chapter Three – A Letter From Janelle_

Today was going better than I thought, well except for that one little puke incident, but I was doing better. Lulu and I shared the same third period class as well, so we walked to class together. We were currently having a heated discussion about Escape the Fate's lead singer and ex-lead singer.

"Ronnie was far more better in Escape the Fate," Pressed Lulu. I nodded my head, agreeing with her 100 percent.

"Yeah, I know, I loved Craig when he was in blessthefall, but now he's made Escape the Fate into this... pop rock band." I said as I shuddered. Lulu laughed, "Yeah, did you hear Sometimes? It was absolutely horrible." She said. I laughed with her while I placed an ear bud in my left ear, keeping my right ear empty so I could hear Lulu speak. I chose one of my preferred songs from Saosin and put the volume on max.

"Seven Years, right?" She asked. I nodded my head, I needed to find a song that Lulu didn't know. "Ey, Lu!" Called Wakka. "Can ya come over here for a sec, I gotta ask you somethin'." She looked over at me and sent me a face that asked me if I would be alright by myself. "Go on." I told her, nudging her in Wakka's direction. She gave me a thankful look and walked away, leaving me to walk to class alone.

I continued walking towards our class when suddenly, I felt two hands push me with extreme force from behind. I managed to soften the fall by placing my palms on the ground before I slammed into it, it still hurt my wrists though. I looked up only to see Dona with a furious expression on her face. Tidus was right behind her, glaring at me with cold, expressionless eyes. The ones he always had whenever he looked at me.

"That was for your little act in Homeroom, and trust me, things will go even worse for you if you try and show me up again." She threatened. She walked around me, heels clacking as she took each step. _You're not gonna stand up for yourself?!_I asked myself. I shook my head and stood up, turning around so I could face Dona. I was kind of glad that we were in a secluded area. No one was around to watch us.

"And if I don't?" I retorted. She stopped and slowly turned around. "What are you gonna do about it? Bitch at me till I die?" I continued. She smirked... I didn't like that. She slowly walked to where I was standing, that stupid smirk still plastered on her face.

"If I do slap you to death," she started, speaking in a soft voice loud enough so that only Tidus could hear us. "What are yougonna do? Go bulimic again and run away?" I froze and heard a surprised gasp behind me. She walked around me and continued to speak. "How do you think she lost all of that weight so fast? Simple. She ate all that food and puked her guts out after. Bulimia." She finished. My back was facing the two of them, and I felt tears fall down my cheeks. How the hell did she know about this? I hadn't told anyone about my bulimia. No one. So how is it that Dona of all people knew about it?

"You lie." I simply said, thanking the Fayth that my voice didn't waver as I spoke. I didn't want _him _of all people seeing me cry. I didn't have to see Dona to know the smirk on her face turned into an evil smile.

"Oh I lie, do I?" She asked me. "Then tell me this. How come I have this video of you puking your guts out in the second floor bathroom?" She asked as she fumbled through her purse. She moved in front of me and showed me her camera, she pushed a few buttons and shoved the screen into my face. Sure enough, there I was. Throwing up. I stood frozen, speechless at the horror before me. She started laughing at me when the video was over and walked away, leaving me alone with Tidus. I wanted to run, run away, so that's what I did. Right when I was about to take off and run, I felt someone grab my arm, restraining me from going any further.

"What do you want Tidus?" I whispered, refusing to look at him.

"Why would you do that to yourself?" He asked me, the anger in his voice evident. I yanked my arm out of his grasp, finally looking into his eyes.

"Why the _hell _do you care?" I yelled. It must have been a figment of my imagination, but I swear I saw something other than hatred in his eyes. Worry. He was actually _worried_ about me? But that was gone faster than it came. The shield was back up, and apparently so was his hatred for me.

"I don't." He said as he walked around me. Those two simple words tore me apart, he really did leave me. I would never know the reason why. And to top it all off, I didn't even know the reason why he turned on me all of a sudden... I walked towards my Calculus class, remembering the day everything went wrong...

* * *

_Freshman Year – First Day of Second Semester_

_Tidus and I pulled up at the school, laughing hard as we remembered something from our childhood. He turned off the ignition but we stayed in the car, still laughing at our reminiscing._

"_Yeah, it came out a week later... it was kinda painful." He said. I started laughing harder because of the images I had in my head._

"_Well now you know not to eat a marble." I teased. We finally settled down and watched the students goof off._

"_God I hate them." He said, looking over at Dona, Seymour, Le Blanc and Nooj. It was always so strange how Nooj and Seymour were actually brothers even though they looked nothing alike. Nooj was well-built, dark skinned and had brown hair. Seymour, on the other hand, he developed some sort of a beer-belly, he was pale skinned and had blue hair. One thing they both had in common though, was that they were assholes. They hated us and we hated them, except for Dona. She developed this huge crush on Tidus and has been flirting with him ever since. He told me he would never go out with someone like her though, he doesn't like sluts. Even one as pretty as Dona. I envied her perfect complexion, her perfectly tanned skin, and the body most girls would kill for, me included. Le Blanc was beautiful, she was basically just like Dona except for her perfect cream-colored skin and blond hair paired off with clear blue eyes._

_I, on the other hand, was just another ordinary girl. The only really interesting thing about me, and the only thing I actually like about myself was my eyes. I had heterochromia so that meant that I had two different colored irises. Awesome, I know. So I had one green eye and one blue eye, proof of my half and half heritage. My mother's Al Bhed, so that's where I got my green eye from and my father wasn't, my blue eye was from his side. I guess you could say I was really insecure, I weighed a lot. I was in my Freshman year and I weighed 145 pounds. Everyone was telling me that I wasn't fat, but they were just saying that because they're supposed to. They're my friends._

"_Hey, you ok?" He asked, waving a hand in my face. I snapped out of my trance and gave him an apologetic look._

"_Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about some things." I reassured him. How could I tell him that my father was on the brink of getting a promotion and that we might move? I couldn't. I couldn't tell him because then he'd tell me that I should go to Zanarkand. I didn't want that, I wanted to be with my best friend. I'm selfish, I know. He gave me a worried look but didn't ask me anything else, something in my expression probably told him that I didn't want to talk to him about it at the moment. Our little exchange was interrupted when we heard three taps on the window right next to me. Rikku was standing right outside with Gippal right next to her. Those two were practically joined to the hip._

"_You guys comin' out or what?" Asked Gippal. Cupping his hands to the window in an attempt to see through the tint._

"_Yeah, we'll be right out." Said Tidus. We both opened the doors and stepped outside. Rikku groaned when she took in my outfit._

"_Yunie! Why do you wear all those baggy clothes? They totally don't flatter your appearance." She complained, I rolled my eyes at her._

"_It's not like I have the body to wear tight clothing, Rikku." I retorted. She huffed in anger._

"_No Yunie! I don't wanna hear this anymore, for the final time, you're not fat!" I didn't have the strength for this argument again. I looked away and caught Seymour staring at me. I shuddered and looked back at Rikku, Tidus didn't fail to catch the little exchange between Seymour and me. He narrowed his eyes, out of all those people in that group, he hated Seymour the most. Tidus had told me countless times to stay away from him and every time I reassured him and told him that I would never be around someone as creepy as Seymour. Tidus was a little... overprotective at times. The bell rang and we all bade each other goodbye and went our separate ways._

… _After School..._

_I was waiting for Tidus next to his car but he was taking a really long time. That was unlike him. If he would be running late he would've texted me or something. I was beginning to get worried, but that was all gone when I saw a mess of blond hair walking in my direction. I sighed in relief only to become even more concerned when I saw the look on his face. He was pissed. No, that was an understatement. He was beyond pissed._

"_Tidus, what's wrong?" I asked him. He looked in my direction and his eyes burned with fury. I was immediately scared, and I didn't like it, not one bit._

"_How could you!" He yelled. "How could you fucking do that? After all I've trusted you and done for you, you go and pull off this crap?!" He yelled. I didn't understand. What did I do? What happened?_

"_What are you tal—" I started. "Save it!" He interrupted. "I can't believe I've been so fucking blind these past years. Now I finally see the real you. You're nothing but a fat, backstabbing slut." He finished. He turned around and walked towards Dona who was watching the whole thing with a surprised expression. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. I couldn't believe what just happened. I was so confused, so hurt. I didn't know what to think. So I did the only thing I could do at the moment. I ran._

_You're nothing but a fat, backstabbing slut... those words wouldn't get out of my head. I felt so sick with myself that I ran home and up to my room. I dropped my backpack and raced to the toilet. I shoved a finger down my throat and made myself throw up._

* * *

That was the day I started to go bulimic. Everyday after that, Tidus would hang out with the people he once hated, only to make my life miserable. With them he would make sure my life was horrible and I never did find out what I did that was so bad. So I just did the only thing I could to try and make things better, puke. I just lost my best friend and he'd lied to me by telling me that he would never hook up with a skank like Dona. Yet there he was, following her around like a lost puppy. Now, every time I looked at him... I couldn't help but go back to my old ways. Ways that I had deserted a year ago with the help of my best friend, Lenne.

Again, the familiar churning in my stomach appeared right on time as I raced to the bathroom, puking my guts out in the nearest toilet. I spent the whole period in the bathroom, crying silently to myself. I hated that I didn't know the reason why he hated me.

_You're nothing but a fat, backstabbing slut..._ I let out a soft sob and wiped my eyes as I remembered the words that made my life miserable. Would I ever get my best friend back? I heard the door open and I quited instantly.

"Yuna?" Came Lulu's voice. "Are you in here?" I stood up and opened the stall. "I'm here." I answered. Lulu gasped at the sight of me. I must look like shit right now.

"What happened? I thought you went to Calculus so when I arrived and you were there I thought something happened. Guess I was right." I nodded. _I guess it's time to tell people about my problem._

I told her everything that occurred, I even told her I was bulimic. When I finished, she let out a lone tear and I watched as it streaked down her pale cheek.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered after a while. I felt a pang of guilt when she said those words. They were layered with tons of pain.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry anyone anymore. I didn't wanna be a burden." I told her. She looked at me like I was crazy.

"Yuna, you're my best friend. You'd never be a burden to me." She pulled me into a hug. I didn't know until now how much I needed it. I wrapped my arms around Lulu and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry." I whispered. We both pulled back at the same time and walked out of the stall.

"No Yuna. I'm sorry." She was about to continue but I didn't want to talk about it at the moment. So I did what I was best at. I avoided the topic.

"No. Please stop. Let's... let's just go to Lunch." I told her. She nodded and we both headed towards the cafeteria. I felt something in my gut, like an intuition but I think it's just nerves. I always had this feeling whenever he was around. I looked over at Lulu and she had a nervous look on her face. She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly I remembered something.

"Shit! I told Rikku that I'd be at my locker for Lunch!" I said, Lulu let out a sigh of relief. We both ran towards my locker, scared out of our wits. Never ever tell Rikku to meet you someplace at a certain time if you're going to be late. We both sprinted to my locker to find Rikku standing right next to my locker, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. She saw me and let out a sigh of frustration and relief, she pulled out her cellphone and looked at the time.

"5 minutes Yuna! You made me wait 5 freaking minutes!" She said. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Jeez Rikku. Take a chill pill, it's only five damn minutes." I said. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. I guess she isn't used to me standing up for myself.

"Let's go to Lunch now guys!" I said, taking both of their hands and pulling them towards the cafeteria. Lulu had that uncomfortable look on her face again. I'll ask her about it when we get to our table. "You sit at the same table right guys?" I asked them. They both looked at each other, exchanged a worried look and nodded.

"Alright guys, enough of this bull. What's wrong with you guys?" I asked them, releasing their hands. They opened the door to the cafeteria and pointed to our old table. Sitting there was Wakka, Gippal and... Tidus. _Wait... what the hell? Lulu told me that he didn't even eat with them? Oh crap... it's happening again. _I covered my mouth and forced down the bile that rose in my throat. Suddenly, I felt very hot and trapped. I needed some fresh air. Tidus laughed at something Wakka said and I couldn't help but smile at the beautiful sight. I haven't seen him smile in almost three years.

"Guys, I think I'm gonna head on home... I don't feel so good." I said as I turned to face Rikku and Lulu, who were looking at me with nervous eyes.

"Yunie, do you want me to walk you to the Nurse's office." Offered Rikku, I shook my head and walked past them, feeling someone's eyes on my back. I knew for a fact that it wasn't Rikku or Lulu's eyes. I walked over to my locker, entered the combination and grabbed my things out of my locker. I decided that I wasn't going to go to the nurse's office after all, it would be such a hassle, it's way more easier to just ditch school. I walked out of the school unnoticed and headed home, it was about a ten minute walk anyways. There was no need to catch the bus.

_God, I hope my parent aren't home. _I couldn't help but think as I slipped my key into the keyhole and twisted it. The door opened and I was relieved to find that nobody was home. I walked up to my room, not even looking into the bathroom once and laid on my bed.

"Yuna! Wake up and come downstairs! I got a surprise for you!" Called my father's voice from downstairs. I groaned and looked at the time. It was 5 in the afternoon, I can't believe I slept for four and a half hours! I trudged down the stairs and dropped myself onto the couch. My father looked like he'd just won first place in a tournament for... something.

"I've got a surprise for you Yuna, and I think you're gonna like it." He said. This piqued my interest, my father's surprises were always fun. I placed my elbows on my knees and rested my head on my arms.

"Well... spit it out dad!" I said, unable to hold in my curiosity. His smile grew even more, if that was possible.

"Well, I originally wanted your mother to be included in this as well, but since she's going to be working late tonight, it'll be just the two of us." He started. "Well I called Jecht, you know, Tidus' father," as he said those words, I felt the smile disappear off of my face. "And we both made plans to eat dinner, the four of us, tonight at their house."

… _Fuck me..._

* * *

**Author's Note - Ok guys, sorry for taking so long to update. Things have been pretty hectic at school, my English teacher is going loca and assigning projects here and there. So I barely have any time to write! And the arguements for the bands are my actual opinions towards them. Escape the Fate was better with Ronnie Radke and blessthefall was better with Craig Mabbit.**

**I'm glad that people are actually liking this story. I didn't think people would like it that much for some reason. So here's thanks to the people who have read, alerted, favorited and reviewed this chapter! Thanks to Waiting for your Whistle, MinnieMouse8990, AerisTifaYuffie for reviewing my story so far, thanks guys!**

**Songs Used For This Chapter:**

**- Seven Years by Soasin**

**- Sometimes by Escape the Fate (Craig as lead singer)**

**- Higinia by blessthefall (When Craig used to sing)**

**Thanks for reading guys, I promise it'll clear up soon!**

**- Shattered Images**

* * *


	4. And I Told Them I Invented TNR

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman by Dance Gavin Dance**

But now you know that I am cold  
Take me out now, I've dropped the mast down  
And now I am found  
Take me out now, I've dropped the mast down

Duck down, then hide, behind the file cabinet  
Duck down, then hide, behind the file cabinet, down  
Without ever letting go I knew you'd gone  
Duck down, then hide, behind the file cabinet  
Duck down, then hide, behind the file cabinet, down  
Without ever letting go I knew you'd gone astray  
Stranded here in this cold atmosphere  
Waiting for the lifeless words to come from your mouth  
Enduring every sound

This is not why  
The cast is hollow  
Sending the rats to follow  
Under the weight of all these eyes  
Fry

But now you know that I am cold  
Take me out now, I've dropped the mast down  
And now I am found  
Take me out now, I've dropped the mast down

I lay without understanding  
I don't know why I feel this way  
Oh lay down girl, take my world  
I know why I can't see your face  
I've placed every mole there is to place  
On your wasted body  
Oh lay down girl and take my world  
I know why I can't see your face

As the window left shattered now  
We saw the withered body try to shout  
You thought the price of your life was devout  
And told us some things you can't live without  
And was this what was best for us  
And was this what was best for us

(Rest where you ought to be)  
Just let it show  
(Block out your misery)  
I'll bring you far  
(Wait for the call, you're left in the hallway)  
Well I'll go for it  
(People they change, and I would still be ashamed)  
I'll beg you when you know  
(To let the weight of the world)  
I'll beg you when it shows  
(Rest on your shoulders)  
Well I'll go for it  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
I don't believe the lies  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
I don't believe the lies  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
I'll die for you  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
I don't believe the lies  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
I don't believe the lies  
(I'll fight until the war is over)  
It's staged for you  
(I'll fight until the war is over)

Left at my feet rests the soul of my brother  
Vengeance will fall for the deeds of another

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

"_Well, I originally wanted your mother to be included in this as well, but since she's going to be working late tonight, it'll be just the two of us." He started. "Well I called Jecht, you know, Tidus' father," as he said those words, I felt the smile disappear off of my face. "And we both made plans to eat dinner, the four of us, tonight at their house."_

… _Fuck me..._

* * *

_Chapter Four - And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman_

**Yuna's Point of View**

"Are you serious!" I shrieked. My father instantly furrowed his brow. _Calm down Yuna. Just go along with it. If you can handle him at school you sure as hell can handle him at his own house. _I told myself.

"Why? Is something wrong?" He asked. I shook my head and hopped off of the couch. "No dad! I just can't believe you did it so soon! I can't wait to go... wait, when are we leaving?" I asked him, my stomach churning from being too nervous. He glanced at his watch and raised five fingers.

"Five minutes!" I yelped as I raced back up the stairs. "I'll go and start the car, come on out when you're ready." He called as I closed the door to my room. There was no time to take a shower so I just ran a comb through my hair and retouched my makeup. I flattened my shirt as smooth as it could go, and went down the stairs where my father was waiting impatiently for me. _Ugh, I so don't wanna do this._ My father was really excited for this, I could tell, he couldn't even sit still. Somehow, I regretted not letting my father know about the whole Tidus situation, as far as he knew, we were still best friends. We swerved through the familiar road towards Tidus' house and my stomach felt worse as each second passed by. When we pulled up towards the driveway, I was practically hyperventilating.

We exited the car, and before my father knocked on the door, it flew open revealing a grinning Jecht and... Tidus. He was smiling as well, but knowing him as well as I _used _to, I knew it was a fake smile. His eyes looked lifeless.

"Yuna!" Boomed Jecht, I jumped at his sudden outburst. My father and Jecht started laughing simultaneously.

"Jumpy as always, eh?" He said as he pulled me in for a hug. I looked anywhere but at the two cerulean eyes that were basically shooting venom as me as I hugged Jecht. He pulled back, hands still on my shoulders, and looked over me. I couldn't help but feel a little self-conscious as he did this.

"Wow, you're the spitting image of your mother, whom I must say is a beautiful woman." Said Jecht. I looked at my father, who rolled his eyes shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. I was beginning to wonder if Tidus told his father about the whole _thing _going on between us. Probably not.

Jecht invited us in and led us to the dinner table, which was set with the most delicious dinner I've ever seen. Was it possible for food to look _this_ good? Tidus and Jecht sat on one side of the well-set table and my father and I sat directly across from them. Jecht and my father in front of each other and Tidus and I across from each other. _Great_.

"So, Yuna," started Jecht as we all started eating. "Yes?" I answered, taking a bite out of the bread. Jecht had a mischievous smile plastered on his face. "You got a boyfriend?" He asked. Tidus and I both choked on our food when Jecht finished his question. _Does he seriously expect me to answer that question?_ I looked over at my father and Jecht and they were looking at me expectantly. _Oh hell no._

"Do I seriously have to answer that?" I asked them as soon as I cleared my throat. My father raised his eyebrows.

"Well _did _you have a boyfriend Yuna?" He asked, I blushed and looked down to my plate.

"Aw, come on Yuna! Don't be a party pooper, just answer the question!" Boomed Jecht. I sighed and told them the truth.

"Well, there was this _one _guy, Shuyin," I started. "It was near the end of my Freshman year and I wasn't in the best of conditions at the time." I looked up and stared right into Tidus' eyes. They held anger, hate... and something new. I just couldn't figure out what, but neither of us looked away.

"He was there for me, always ready to lend a helping hand. So I guess from us hanging out so much, we went from really good friends to... being an item." I finished, finally tearing my gaze off of Tidus and looking towards my father. Who looked like he was contemplating.

"I should just lied." I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples with my fingers. I looked back up to Tidus and found him frowning. For some reason, that made me happy. He deserved whatever caused him to frown.

"Yuna, I've been thinking. It was pretty inconsiderate for me to just take you away from your friends back from Zanarkand. How'd you like to visit them next week?" He offered. I felt my eyes widen and what was probably the biggest smile I've ever had grow on my face. I jumped up from the table and hugged my father, who chuckled from embarrassment. My father and I don't really show public affection. Well, not since I was seven. I took out my phone and realized I had three new text messages. One from Lenne and two from Rikku.

"Excuse me, but may I head outside for a minute? I've gotta tell my friends the news." I asked. Jecht motioned for me to exit and my father sent me a warm smile, I didn't even look at Tidus. I went outside and sat down on the entrance stairs. I scrolled through my text messages and read my new ones.

Lenne's read: _Yuna! I've gotta tell you something, call me as soon as possible. I'm going to burst if you don't call me! _I laughed at her impatience, Lenne wasn't really known for having the best patience. It was probably even worse than Rikku's, if that was possible. Speaking of Rikku, I pressed the down button and read her text. It read:

_Yuna, are you ok? Please tell me you're ok. Lulu and I've been so worried about you. Please respond as soon as you get this text. _I went to the next one only to find that she had sent me the same text message twice.

Before I replied to them, I pulled out my iPod and played Scary Kids Scaring Kids really loudly. I took out one of my earphones and started replying. To Lenne, I wrote: _I'll call you as soon as I get home, but I've also got some news for you too! I'm coming to Zanarkand next week to visit you guys! _I sent it and went over to Rikku's worried text messages and replied with: _Don't worry Rikku, I'm fine. But I really need to talk to you tomorrow._

"Yuna? Is that you?" I heard from above me. I raised my head and snatched eye contact with Seymour Guado. I smiled at him and said, "Seymour, it's good to see you again." I paused my music so I could hear him ebtter.

"You're right Yuna, it _has _been too long. How've you been?" He asked, kneeling in front of me. "Oh, I've been fine. Finally know how to defend myself." I told him. Seymour looked above my head and narrowed his eyes at something behind me. I turned my head and groaned out loud. Standing behind me was Tidus, who had a pissed off look on his face. He only hated Seymour because Seymour was there for me when he turned on me. Seymour was the one that defended me when no one else could. Lulu, Rikku, Wakka and Gippal couldn't do anything about it because Tidus only pulled off his stunts when they weren't anywhere near me.

"What do you want?" I spat to him. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Your father said to bring you back inside. And what the hell is _he _doing here? This is a no asshole zone." He asked, nodding his head towards Seymour. I rolled my eyes at his immatureness. Seymour just laughed aloud.

"Very mature, Tidus. But if this was a no asshole zone, how is it that you aren't kicked out? I mean, it does take a true ass to turn on his best friend." Retorted Seymour. I raised my eyebrows and smiled at Seymour. I wondered what it was about him that made me hate him in the first place. I looked over at Tidus, scared instantly from his expression. It was the same one that he had when he... turned on me. I stood up and started speaking.

"Ok guys, Seymour, I'll see you around, it seems as though I have to head back inside now." I said as I gave Seymour a hug. I waved goodbye and watched as he left, wondering how on Spira did I ever deserve such a good friend? I walked past Tidus, accidentally brushing his arm when I squeezed past. It sent a warm feeling throughout my entire body. I walked towards the living room and leaned on the doorway, watching old friends catch up. They noticed that I was standing there and almost stopped laughing immediately.

"Tidus, why don't you take Yuna to your room, I'm pretty sure you guys have some homework to do." Jecht said. I rolled my eyes and turned around, I almost jumped when I saw how close Tidus was to me.

"Come on." He said, taking my hand. I felt that warm feeling throughout my body and smiled as we walked up the stairs. I guess we still had to keep up the appearances. He stopped in front of his door and released my hand. He turned the knob and opened the door, almost immediately I was assaulted by the scent of cinnamon. Tidus' favorite scent. He went in and left the door open, I took that as a sign to enter. His room was so... _tidy_. Like it has always been, ever since his mother passed away. I walked into the room and sighed. Tidus looked up at me with the same old look. I rolled my eyes and exited his room, I didn't wanna put up with his bullshit right now. I called the taxi company and asked them for Brother. He was Rikku's older brother and he always gave me free rides whenever I wanted.

"_Hello?_" Came a heavily accented voice.

"Brother? It's Yuna." I replied.

"_Ah Yuna! How are you?" _He asked.

"I'm good, thanks. But listen, can you give me a ride? I'm at Jecht's house and I just wanna get out of here." I asked. I really hope he doesn't ask me what's happening.

"_Yes, sure Yuna. I'll be there in five minutes tops." _He told me. I heard a click over the line and hung up my phone. "That's mature." Came Tidus' voice from inside the room. "Running away again, but I shouldn't be surprised."

"I learned from the best." I replied. Taking a seat on the top of the staircase. I heard his door creak and about three footsteps coming towards where I was sitting.

"No, you taught that shit to yourself. You ran away, you left me. You lied to me and you fucking left me after you promised me you wouldn't." He whispered. I felt the tears gather in my eyes.

"Well what did you expect me to do? Did you seriously expect me to take all of your crap and let you humiliate me like you did for the next three years?" I asked him. Finally turning my head to look at him. I almost gasped when I looked into his eyes. For once in about three years, they held something other than hatred. It seemed like desperation... pain. He looked down and frowned. I heard a honk from outside and stood up, my back facing Tidus.

"And just so you know... you were the one that left me. Not the other way around." I walked down the stairs and exited out of the house, tears falling down my face freely. I entered the car and buckled myself in with the seatbelt.

"Where to?" Asked brother.

"Just... please take me home." I told him as more tears gushed down my face.

* * *

**Tidus' Point of View**

I watched from my window as the girl that used to be my best friend drove away. I didn't know I had caused her so much pain, I was beginning to wonder if what Dona and Seymour told me was true. I still remembered the day that everything changed...

* * *

_First Day of Second Semester_

"_Not now Dona. I'm supposed to be somewhere." I told her as I walked around her and in the direction of my car. I hated making Yuna wait for me. Seymour was just staring at us with an amused expression._

"_You know, I don't really get why you hang out with her." Said Dona, following me closely. I don't get why she doesn't like Yuna. "It's not like she actually values the friendship between you two." I continued walking and ignoring her, but this was different from the other times. Usually she would talk about how Yuna's not pretty, how she's weak and needy. But this time was different. I stopped and turned to look and her._

"_What are you talking about? Yuna does value our friendship." I told her. Dona and Seymour both started laughing together. The sound of the two laughters mixed together was really creepy._

"_Is it true your mother was a drunk?" Seymour asked. I froze, no one but Yuna and my father knew that. I grabbed Seymour by the collar and pushed him against the wall._

"_How the hell did you know that?" I asked through gritted teeth. Seymour laughed his creepy laugh again and it sent icy shivers through my spine._

"_Who do you think told me? She told me as she begged me to take her. To fuck her senseless." Seymour spat. I wasn't sure what to think, I refused to believe that Yuna could ever tell anyone, especially Seymour about my mother._

"_Isn't it also true that your father used to beat and cheat on your mother? And when she found out, she slit her wrists and tried to kill herself?" He continued. Again, no one but Yuna and my father knew about this. I walked towards the parking lot where Yuna was waiting for me._

_Tidus, what's wrong?" She asked me, I looked at her with... hatred. I saw fear wash pass through her eyes and I had to admit, I liked it._

"_How could you!" I yelled. "How could you fucking do that? After all I've trusted you and done for you, you go and pull off this crap?!"_

"_What are you tal—" She started. I couldn't believe she was going to play dumb with me. "Save it!" I interrupted her. "I can't believe I've been so fucking blind these past years. Now I finally see the real you. You're nothing but a fat, backstabbing slut." I know, I was a little too harsh, but she deserved it. Sadness took over her eyes and she watched as I walked over to Dona, who had a surprised expression on her face and kissed her with all of my current emotions. When I pulled back, I looked over at where Yuna was only to find that she wasn't there anymore. Guess she couldn't handle the truth._

"_I can't believe I didn't see through her before." I whispered. Dona stroked my hair and muttered reassuring phrases into my ear._

"_It's ok sweetie, she fooled everyone. It was best that you found out now while you could still get away." How could I have ever hated Dona?_

* * *

After that, Seymour and Yuna hung out whenever possible. I knew that Rikku, Lulu, Wakka and Gippal didn't like him, but they put up with him for her sake. They didn't know about our little pranks for Yuna, we always made sure to do them when none of those four were there. I hated how close they were, it was like they were meant to be together. Oh well, they have a lot in common anyways. When Yuna left, I was such a mess. At first I thought she was sick or something, but when two weeks passed and she didn't make an appearance again. I knew she moved. She left me, the very thing she promised me she wouldn't do and she left me. She only stayed a month after our argument.

* * *

_Earlier This Morning_

_When I first saw her again, I realized just how much I missed having her around. I felt a lot of mixed emotions that I couldn't decipher. Hate, care, desperation, nervousness, possessiveness but most of all, need. I needed my best friend back. She picked up my phone and handed it over to me, she looked into my eyes and I saw realization pass through them. The hatred overtook any other emotion and I was back to my old self again. I snatched my phone from her grasp and walked past her. _

"_You're welcome." She yelled. I just kept on walking."Ass." She muttered under her breath. I was impressed... she actually defended herself for once._

* * *

Seeing Seymour with Yuna brought back all the anger that I've held for about three years and it reminded me the reason why this whole thing started in the first place. She lied to me, she fucked Seymour. I laid on my bed and started playing my iPod. I've noticed a change in music tastes for Yuna. Well for starters, she actually started listening to music, the good type at that. She was listening to Bring Me The Horizon during the cell phone incident. It was practically my favorite band because they have the best breakdowns and killer guitars. It reminded me of how much we actually have in common. I couldn't believe that Yuna would actually turn to bulimia just to make herself look skinny. It worked for her, but the whole concept of Yuna having to shove a finger down her throat made me feel like crap. The only reason she started doing that was because of me. _No, stop! It's not your fault, it's hers. She brought this onto herself. _My inner voice said.

I agreed with myself and planned the next prank on Yuna Vie. It would be tonight when everyone was sleeping. I checked my pockets for my car keys and when I made sure I had them, I started figuring out what the next prank was going to be about. I set the alarm clock to ring at two in the morning and went to sleep, trying to get as much sleep as possible before the big event.

* * *

**Author's Note - Well, I hope that this clears up some of the confusion. I'm not fully finished explaining what's going on, but I'm probably going to in the next couple of chapters. And I'm also sick so that means I get to spend more time posting up new chapters. Yippee. And Fanfiction won't let me post the whole title of this chapter, hence why it's called And I Told I Invented TNR. TNR stands for Times New Roman... that's my second favorite song from Dance Gavin Dance... when they still had Jonny Craig in the band.**

**Songs Used For This Chapter:**

**- Holding On by Scary Kids Scaring Kids**

**- Chelsea Smile by Bring Me The Horizon (Yes, it's true. Bring Me The Horizon has the best breakdowns ever.)**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X, the characters**** used, or the songs mentioned in this story.**

**Thanks to all of the people that have reviewed this story so far. You guys are the reason I'm actually continuing this story. Thanks to all that have read this story, please review.**

**- Shattered Images**


	5. Dez Moines

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – Dez Moines by The Devil Wears Prada**

_Fall to your knees (Accomplish nothing)  
Fall to your knees only to exercise your schedule  
Abandon calendar  
What has come with such preaching is loneliness  
Profit: Zero  
Achievement: Zero  
Forward can't be stopped  
It just goes to show that some words are useless  
It just goes to show that some words are useless  
Take all your medals, take all your ribbons, take all your awards  
Take them, take them, back to the ground  
Our youth is lost  
A product of the created circumstances  
All I can say is 'maybe'  
Maybe, maybe  
All I can say is 'maybe'  
This is what I've been expecting all along, all along  
Now's the time of weakness, now's the time of blood  
Perhaps even the whole-hearted had wished for this  
Now's the time of weakness, now's the time of blood  
And still the time of lions  
Push everything  
Force everything  
We've all sung of the end, but who truly understands it?  
All along, all along  
Forward can't be stopped_

_It just goes to show that some words are useless_

_It just goes to show that some words are useless  
Take all your medals, take all your ribbons, take all your awards  
Take them back to the ground_

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

_I agreed with myself and planned the next prank on Yuna Vie. It would be tonight when everyone's sleeping. I checked my pockets for my car keys and when I made sure I had them, I started figuring out what the next prank was going to be about. I set the alarm to ring at two in the morning and went to sleep, trying to get as much as possible before the big event._

* * *

_Chapter Five – Dez Moines_

**Yuna's Point Of View**

"Thanks for the ride Brother." I told him as I closed the door. I spent the whole ride trying to get myself together before anyone would notice. He waved goodbye and backed out of my driveway. Now that no one was home, I decided that this would probably be a good time to call Lenne. I pulled out my cellphone... it was 7:30? I thought it would be much earlier than that. I flipped open my phone and dialed Lenne's number. She picked up after the second ring.

"_Hello, Yuna? Is that you?" _Asked Lenne's voice. I heard a male's voice on the other side too. Was her news about her getting another boyfriend?

"Hey Lenne, yeah it's me. You had something to tell me?" I asked her.

"_Yeah, I did. Wait, I just got a text message, can you hold up for a second?" _She asked.

"Oh yeah, sure." I envied her phone. She can check her text messages _and _be talking to someone over her cellphone at the same time.

"_Whoa! Your father let you come to Zanarkand next weekend? No! Tell him you can't come! Tell him you don't wanna come!" _She screamed. The male voice on the other line said something to her and she whispered back.

"What? Why not?" I asked her. It felt like she didn't want me to go. I tried to hide the pain in my voice.

"_Because. Shuyin and I are coming to Besaid next week!" _She answered. Lenne and I started squealing with joy. _"Could you guys shut up?!" _Complained the male voice. She told the male to shut up.

"Is that Shuyin?" I asked Lenne.

"_Yeah." _Came her simple reply. I didn't fail to notice that she was unusually... not-talkative, but I didn't question her about it. I would ask her later.

"Oh! Tell him I miss him a lot! How are things at college for him?" I asked her. I heard her laughter carry on over the line. Shuyin asked her what was so funny and she told him what I asked. I heard him chuckle twice.

"_Save the questions for when we get there, Yuna. Well, we've gotta continue packing. I can't wait to see you next week!" _She exclaimed. I agreed with her and snapped my phone shut. Things are kinda awkward between Shuyin and me now. Ever since we've broken up, it's been kinda weird. It felt like I was dating my own brother, so that's why we broke up, mutually. I took out a pair of pajamas from my closet and laid it out on my bed. The one thing I needed right now was a nice, warm bath. Also, it could help me think about somethings... Tidus-related and what I'm gonna do about them.

* * *

**Tidus' Point Of View**

As soon as I situated myself into the car, I started thinking about whether I should do this or not. A million things rushed through my head. _Can I pull this off? Will I do this unnoticed? What would happen if she caught me? Does Yuna actually deserve this? _I froze at the last thought. _Of course she does, she's Yuna. _This is just a small prank, it's not going to do any damage. I reassured myself and started the engine, looking through the windows for any sign of movement. When I was pretty sure that no one was awake, I pulled out of the driveway and into the road, driving towards a house I've been to so many times.

As I drove on, I couldn't help but think of the good times, when Yuna and I were practically inseparable. She was like the little sister I've always wanted but couldn't have, so of course, I felt the need to protect her every time I sensed something wrong. That's why I was especially protective around Yuna when it came to Seymour. I didn't know what it was, but something in my gut always told me to keep Yuna and myself away from him. Even now, when I couldn't care less about Yuna, I still had the same exact gut feeling.

I couldn't piece him together, he was so complicated. After all, he was the one that told me about Yuna and her... issues. _Backstabbing issues... Fucking issues. _I pushed those thoughts towards the back of my , afterwards, he would defend her whenever we did something to her. I just didn't get it. _What the Hell did he want?_ I put those thoughts aside as I neared Yuna's house... _So many good times spent here... _I thought as I exited the car. _Focus, Tidus. _I told myself. I walked towards the tree that was located right next to Yuna's room and started to climb the tree, placing my hands and feet in the correct places.

Of course, knowing Yuna as well as I did, I knew that she'd leave her window open. She always did. She liked her room to be drafty... I didn't know why. But it was always cold. I climbed through the open window and stepped inside the room, careful not to make any noise. I looked over and froze at the sight of Yuna's face shimmering in the moonlight. _So... beautiful... _I mean, she'd always been beautiful, but—my thoughts were cut short when her soft voice cut through the silence.

"Tidus." She whispered. She only talked in her sleep when she was having a nightmare. My resolve wavered and I wondered how many other nightmares I starred in. _She doesn't deserve this..._ I sighed and looked around the room, wondering how much it's changed since the last time. _Not much... the only difference was that she has a lot of band posters hanging on her wall. _I looked through them and noticed that we actually had a lot in common music-wise. She had a poster of _Escape the Fate _when Ronnie was still lead singer, _blessthefall _when Craig was still lead singer, _The Devil Wears Prada, Chiodos, Parkway Drive, Blink-182, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Dance Gavin Dance _when Jonny Craig was still there, _Emarosa, Eyes Set To Kill, Flyleaf, Foo Fighters, Kill Hannah, The Killers, Linkin Park, Pierce the Veil, Paramore, Saosin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Silverstein, Alesana, Sky Eats Airplane, A Skylit Drive... Holy crap! How many of these does she have?_

I looked around and my eyes rested on what looked like 20 more posters laid flat down on the table. I shook my head in amazement and held in a chuckle that threatened to burst through my mouth. I looked over my shoulder, checking to see if she was awake when my eyes rested on a lone poster that was hung right above her bed. It was a _Bring Me The Horizon _poster that was signed by all band members... and there was writing on the very bottom.

_To Yuna, probably the sexiest girl I've ever seen. I hope to get to know you a little better and can't wait to see you again. Here's my number, call me sometime. - Oli Sykes. _And sure enough, right below his name there was a phone number. _His _phone number.

I couldn't contain the growl that erupted from my chest as I read my _ex-favorite _band's lead singer's writing. _What the Hell is this? _I rolled my eyes. Why was I getting mad at this? He probably writes that to every girl he meets. I walked over to her nightstand and opened the one drawer. I know it's rude to look through people's belongings, but I just couldn't help it. If something involved Yuna, I would always know what was going on, even in these current situations. I looked through birthday cards from someone named Lenne and... _Shuyin. _I would find out more about him later when I realized that Yuna didn't have her journal with her. She always had a journal to write about her day. Even if nothing special happened, she would sit in her desk and start writing like there's no tomorrow. _I guess she stopped writing in it and threw it away or something. _I thought. I guess some things change. _Yeah, tell me about it. _I told myself.

I glanced at her clock and decided that it was about time that I take my leave. I gave the familiar and homey room one last sweeping look and put a foot outside of the window. Her voice stopped me again.

"Tidus... I miss you so much." She whispered.

"Same here." I whispered as I climbed out of the room, closing the window behind me.

* * *

**Yuna's Point of View**

When I woke up, I felt... strangely happy for some reason. I hopped off of the bed and picked out a change of clothes. I decided to wear a pair of blue skinny jeans with snake skin patterns littering them and an All Time Low band shirt. I combed my hair, brushed my teeth and was about to leave when I noticed something. My window was closed. I rolled my eyes in frustration. I hated when Father closed my window, I liked having a drafty room and he just didn't seem to understand that. I walked out of my house after bidding my mother goodbye and started towards school. Lulu caught up with me about halfway and she asked me if I was ok. When she was certain that I was fine, she told me that Wakka asked her out yesterday.

"No way!" I screamed as I hugged her. She chuckled softly and wriggled out of my embrace.

"Yeah, he's taking me out to dinner tomorrow." She said. I loved how she was trying to be all calm and collected, but since I knew her so well, I could see right through her. She was happy beyond belief. We said our goodbyes and headed towards our classes. I was already two minutes late, but I didn't really care. Suddenly, I had the urge to pee for some reason. I walked towards the bathroom located next to my classroom and was about to open it when I heard a faint moan coming from inside. I slowly opened the door and put my head inside the room. I heard another moan and almost puked in disgust. I put my head through a little further and saw Dona making out with someone... that wasn't Tidus. He had short brown hair and seemed strangely familiar. Max! The guy from my gym class.

So Dona was cheating on Tidus with Max. I thought as I smirked. I reached for the light switch and pulled it down, making the bathroom pitch black. I heard scuffling inside and a loud bang. I sprinted towards the end of the hall and watched as Dona left first, rearranging her shirt and fixing the craziest sex hair I've ever seen. Then the door burst open and Max sprinted out of there, covering his eye with his hand. I laughed and walked into my First period class. Miss Shelinda gave me a stern look but didn't say anything as I made my way towards the back of the class.

_I wonder if I should tell Tidus about this. No, I shouldn't. He wouldn't believe me anyways. _I pondered about this situation as I listened to The Nobodies by Marilyn Manson. Before I knew it, class ended.

I walked towards my locker with a pensive look on my face and placed my backpack inside of it, taking my cellphone and my iPod out and placing them in my pockets. Rikku was already inside Homeroom and she was sitting in the same table as yesterday... but so was Tidus and Dona. Who were both currently sucking face. I rolled my eyes and sat down, making sure the chair made a loud screeching sound as I pulled it back. They both pulled back from each other and each gave me a nasty glare. I rolled my eyes, but it didn't stop the pain I felt when his glare rested on me. I noticed that he didn't get much sleep last night, considering those humongous bags under his eyes. _Whatever, he probably spent the night fucking Dona. But why the Hell are they sitting here? _I looked pointedly over at them and then at Rikku, she just shrugged her shoulders. She widened her eyes and smacked her forehead.

"Oh, Yunie! Before I forget to tell you. I'm throwing a sleepover tomorrow night over at my house. Think you can make it?" She asked. I nodded and gave her a smile.

"Of course! Who's coming?" I asked. Rikku bit her lip and started talking.

"Oh, just you, me, Gippal, Lulu, Wakka... oh, and Tidus... Gippalwantedmetoaskyouifyouwantedtocome." She quickly said. I blinked twice. _Rikku, what the Hell did you just say?_

"Say what?" Tidus asked. His smooth voice made me want to run into his arms and tell him how much I miss him, regardless of how shitty he treated me... still does. Rikku sighed and repeated herself once more, slowly.

"Gippal wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come." She said, her eyes flickering towards me. I was speechless. I prayed to the Fayth that Tidus would be busy or something.

"Yeah, sure, I guess I could come." Dona nudged him with her elbow.

"I-if Dona can come too that is." He quickly added. Rikku lifted an eyebrow and rolled her eyes. _Fayth, this can't be happening._

"Yeah sure, whatever." Muttered Rikku.

"Oh wait, I don't think that Lulu and Wakka can make it tomorrow. They're both going out on a date." I told Rikku. Dona started laughing. The three of us just looked at her. The was laughing so hard the scarf almost slipped from her neck.

"Lulu _must _be desperate if she's going out with _that _muscle-head." No, she didn't just fucking say that.

"Excuse me?" I said. She stopped laughing and gave me a challenging look.

"You heard me," She started in a smooth voice. "Need I repeat myself once more?"

"She's not desperate, they actually like each other." I told her, getting even more pissed off by the second.

"Right, right." She said, rolling her eyes. I was about to say something back to her when the damn bell cut me off. I stormed out of class and walked towards my locker, forcing away the tears that threatened to break loose.

"Yuna, it's ok. She's just a superficial bitch, don't listen to what she says." Said Rikku as she rubbed small circles on my back. I shook my head and forced a laugh.

"It's ok. I'm fine, honestly." I quickly changed the subject. "Did you see the hickeys on her neck?" I told her. Rikku slowly nodded, confused as to where I was getting at. I told her about my little encounter with Max and Dona and she squealed. "Holy shit!" She said. "Are you gonna tell him?" She asked. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "No, I'll just let that ass figure it out by himself." I said.

"And I guess by _ass _you're referring to me." Came his voice. I froze and turned around, almost yelping at how close we were. He was literally two inches away from me. I kept my face smooth and expressionless and nodded solemnly.

"So, I'm guessing you're not gonna tell me what I need to figure out." He said, his eyes still hard and filled with hatred, but with something else that I couldn't decipher. I hated that he was super hard to read.

"If it's something you need to figure out, then I can't tell you." I said as I walked around him, waving goodbye to Rikku.

"_No, I guess not." He whispered softly. I didn't know if he intended for me to hear it, but I guess it was too late. He sounded... in pain. I broke into a run and sprinted towards Gym, and away from the desire to hold him and tell him that I can't stand being away from him like this._

**Author's Note - Ok guys, sorry for the late update! And I'm also sorry for making Tidus such an ass, it's really hard for me to make him like this. But don't worry! It'll all work out soon... I hope. Thanks to all of the people that have either, reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. It seriously means a lot to me.**

**:.: Songs Used For This Chapter :.:**

**- The Nobodies by Marilyn Manson**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X, the music mentioned, or the characters. Except for Max, he's mine.**

**Please review, your opinion matters a lot to me. Tell me if you liked it, hated it, anything. Thanks for reading!**

**- Shattered Images**

* * *


	6. Darling

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – Darling by Eyes Set To Kill**

_Don't lie don't lie to me now  
Now I'm erasing you  
Throwing those memories out  
Out to start something new  
I'm throwing those memories_

Darling  
Don't lie to me  
Darling don't

Breathe in slowly now  
Darling don't lie to me  
Breathe in slowly now  
Darling don't lie to me

Inhale truth I plead  
For your my only hope  
Don't lie don't leave

Mind set on failure  
The road you chose  
Told me you loved me  
Told me no

Take your time I'm only dying  
Patiently I kneel here dying

Curse the blind you curse the blind  
Deep inside is where it lies

Don't mind me  
I'm only dying  
What got me into this mess that devoured me  
Lies and deceitful actions keep promising  
Darling don't lie

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

"_No, I guess not." He whispered. I didn't know if he intended for me to hear it, but I guess it was too late. He sounded... in pain. I quickly ran towards Gym, and away from the need to hold him and tell him that I can't stand being away from him like this._

* * *

**Author's Note**** – I've skipped to the day of the sleepover. (Wednesday)**

_Chapter Six – Darling_

**Yuna's Point Of View**

"No Rikku, there's no way in _Hell _that I'm gonna wear that." I said, giving the microscopic garment a look of pure disgust. Rikku examined the bikini with a confused expression. I rolled my eyes. I hadn't had any type of contact with Tidus since yesterday, so I was a little nervous about today's outcome at the sleepover.

"And why not? It's perfectly fine." She said, not taking her eyes off of the clothing she held.

"Well for starters, that thing probably wouldn't cover _anything _on my body, and secondly, we're here to shop for _pa-ja-mas_, not bikinis." I retorted, wrinkling my nose at the swimming suit. She sighed deeply.

"Well, it's always a good idea to browse. You'll never know when things like these," She lifted up the bikini to my face. "Would come in handy." She continued. This girl just doesn't know when to quit, doesn't she?

"If I buy this, will you stop nagging me?" I asked, rolling my eyes as I said it. She nodded vigorously. "Okay, fine." I threw the bikini inside the little basket I was carrying. I wandered over to the pajama section and browsed for a new pair while Rikku deliberated between buying a skimpy neon green strap-less bikini and a decent black bikini with soft pink flowers on the sides. _Please Fayth, make her choose the black one. _She nodded, placing the neon green bikini back on the counter and joined me in my hunt for the perfect pair of pajamas. Since Rikku, being the spoiled little brat she is, had a ton of pajamas, she didn't feel the need to buy another one.

"Yunie, we won't ever be able to find the perfect pair of pajamas for you. Can't ya just borrow a pair from me?" She whined. I nervously bit my lip, I hated borrowing things from people. It made me feel like some sort of free-loader, and I hated that. But since we've been searching for pajamas for about an hour and a half, I decided to take Rikku up on her offer.

"Um, okay. Fine. I guess I will... do you wanna get something to eat?" I asked her. Rikku placed a hand on her stomach and nodded. We went to the cashier and paid for our bikinis, then we headed towards the food court and settled on sharing a piece of pepperoni pizza. You'll never believe who showed up when we were halfway through our pizza. Dona and Tidus. She had an amused expression on her face while he looked... somewhat distant.

"My, my, my. I guess your strong appetite never goes away. Careful Yuna dear, you wouldn't wanna lose that gorgeous figure of yours again." She said, smoothly. Suddenly, I lost my appetite. She knew how sensitive I was when it came to my weight.

"Excuse me," I said while I pushed the plate away and headed for the bathroom. I heard Rikku screaming at Dona as I sprinted towards the girl's restroom. I threw open the door and ran to the nearest available stall, I was about to enter when I felt someone pull on my arm. I immediately knew who it was by the warmth that spread throughout my body. Tidus.

"Let me go!" I screeched at I tried yanking my arm from his grasp.

"Stop it Yuna!" I froze... I hadn't heard my name come from out of those lips in a while. Tears started falling down my cheeks. _Does he actually care about me?_

"Why?" I asked. _I don't even know anymore._

"Why, what?" He questioned back. I closed my eyes, my back still facing him.

"Why are you here? I thought you hated me." I felt him stiffen behind me. _This isn't good... _I realized something right then. The closed window couldn't be from my father, I forgot to unlock my bedroom door. Plus, he looked like he didn't get any sleep yesterday.

"It was you," I whispered, turning around to face him. He was giving me a quizzical look.

"You were the one that snuck into my room yesterday." I said, turning around to face him. I didn't know what to think. _Should I be happy? Pissed?_

"Now's not the time for accusations," He stated. His face showed no emotion, but his eyes... they betrayed him. I decided not to press him about this subject... for now. "Why would you do that to yourself?" He asked me, motioning towards the toilet. I looked behind my shoulder and let another tear drop from my eyes. I narrowed my eyes, was he seriously asking me this? _You seriously don't know why?_

I gave him a maniacal laugh. "You seriously don't _fucking_ know why?" I didn't even give him a chance to answer. "It's because of you! _'You're nothing but a __fat__, backstabbing slut.'_" I quoted him. He flinched at the harshness layered in my voice, but I didn't back down. "You of all people! The person who went from being my best friend to the being douche bag that made my life a living Hell." He couldn't even look into my eyes anymore.

"And you know what's even worse?" I asked him, he lifted his eyes to meet mine. "I don't even know what I did to make you become like this." I whispered. Anger flashed through his eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me, Yuna. You know what you did." He harshly whispered. I was in no mood for any games. "No! Tell me. Tell me what I did, Tidus." I retorted, matching the amount of venom in his voice. I've never seen him so pissed before in my life.

"You told them. After you promised me you'd never do that." He said, breathing heavily from the amount of anger he was keeping bottled up.

"What are you talking about?" I said. "I never told anyone anything you didn't want me to!" I said. This is currently the most confusing situation I've ever been in.

"Stop with the bullshit!" He roared. "What bullshit?!" I yelled back.

"You told Seymour about my personal family problems while _fucking _him! You betrayed my trust! You know how I feel about him, but you screwed him anyways! Then you told him about my parent's relationship." He yelled. I froze. _Did he seriously consider me capable of betraying him like that? _I started shaking my head, laughing softly at his ignorance.

"You actually think I'd fuck Seymour back then? I wouldn't even do that now! And if you think I'd betray your trust like that, then you're not that good of a friend." I whispered as I walked past him and out of the restroom. I walked towards Rikku and grabbed her, dragging her behind me as we exited the mall.

* * *

**Tidus' Point Of View**

I was so confused. _If you think I'd betray your trust like that, then you're not that good of a friend. _Her words kept rattling inside my head. Her words seemed so... genuine. I didn't sense any lies in her voice. If you knew someone for about your whole life then you'd know when that person was telling the truth. And Yuna, wasn't lying. _But if Yuna didn't tell Seymour about my family situations... then how did he find out about them? _I exited the bathroom just in time to see Yuna and Rikku exit the mall, leaving a pale-faced Dona at the table with their unfinished pizza.

I really didn't wanna be around Dona right now, she'd chatter on and on about how Yuna and Rikku are both bitches and seriously, I just didn't have the strength for that. Especially when it came to Yuna. I pulled out my cellphone and sent Rikku a text message.

_Sorry Riks, can't come to the sleepover tonight. Please, no questions asked._

I couldn't face Yuna there... plus, I wasn't in the mood for a gathering right now. I sat in my car for what seemed like 20 minutes until Rikku finally replied.

_It's ok. I was gonna tell you I called it off. Yuna's not coming either._

I immediately felt bad. _It's because of me isn't it... She doesn't want to be around me... She hates me... I can't care about her, I just can't. I need to forget about her. I'm so fucking confused... I need a drink. _I started the car and drove to the nearest bar. For now, alcohol is my friend. The answer to all of my problems.

* * *

**Yuna's Point Of View**

_'You told Seymour about my personal family problems while fucking him!' _What was he talking about? It was times like these that I wished I still had the journal Tidus gave me for my seventh birthday. It was one of the two things that I couldn't live without. The other one being my bes—_ex_-best friend. I, being the irresponsible person I am, lost my journal. About three weeks before I left Besaid to be exact. I sighed... I would have bought a new journal... but I wanted _that _specific one. The one _he _gave me.

I couldn't help but smile at the thought of him stopping me before I puked my guts out. To tell you the truth, I wasn't going to do it. It was a test. A test to see if he actually didn't care about me. I've been planning this since the time he asked me why I went bulimic. And he passed. I'm just glad to know that he doesn't totally hate my guts. If our relationship status would stay as enemies, I'd be fine. Because I know that he still cares about me, just like I do for him. Today's events cleared some things up. I was determined to get to the bottom of this... starting by talking to Seymour and demanding to know what the Hell he's getting at. I knew for a fact that Dona had something to do with this as well. I'd save her ass for later.

I walked downstairs towards the living room and re-read the note my father left me saying that he was taking my mother out on a date. So basically, I had the whole house to myself until three o'clock in the morning. I looked at the clock and noticed that it was about eleven thirty.

I pulled out my iPod and listened to the old Escape the Fate. I pulled out the book that I was currently reading, _Hunted _by P.C and Kirsten Cast. When I got about halfway through the book (I had to admit that I was a pretty fast reader.), I heard a loud banging on my door. _Who the Hell could that be?_ I pulled off my earphones and cautiously approached my door, grabbing the baseball bat that rested next to the door. Who would want to visit at eleven thirty at night? I carefully opened the door and screamed when I saw Tidus on my front porch. I dropped the baseball bat and covered my mouth with my hands.

He had bruises on his face and his breath reeked of alcohol. But none of the injuries he wore compared to the pain his eyes held. He never looked so... _desperate_. Without asking him any questions, I led him inside and laid him on the couch I previously sat on. I headed towards the kitchen and brewed a fresh pot of decaffeinated coffee. While the water was boiling, I ran towards the closet and pulled out the safety kit we kept there. I set the case down in front of Tidus and began tending to his injuries.

Every time he would wince, I would apologize quickly. I hated causing him pain. I had already handed him his coffee, just the way he liked it, and was currently rubbing alcohol on a slash he had across his right cheek. His eyes never left my face and I just couldn't find the strength to look into his. He gently grabbed my hand and called my name.

"Yuna." He whispered. _Okay, this is it. Just look at him, nothing is going to go wrong. _I didn't know why I was so scared. I finally looked straight into his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered before passing out. _As am I Tidus. More than you'll ever know. But don't worry, all of this will be over soon._

* * *

**Tidus' Point Of View**

_I was on my fifth or sixth cup of vodka when I saw Seymour. Anger passed throughout me when I saw the evil glint in his eyes. I got up from my stool and clumsily walked over to him._

"_You fucking liar." I spat at him. He raised an eyebrow at me, questioningly._

"_You lied. Yuna wouldn't screw you, she never would." I said through gritted teeth. He laughed, God how I hated that laugh._

"_Still hung up on the past, I see. But who knows, what didn't happen yesterday may happen tomorrow." He retorted. It was all a _fucking _trick. "Besides," He said, raising his hands. "I wasn't the person behind the plot. Dona gave me an offer I just couldn't refuse." He continued. How_ fucking _stupid_ _am I? I needed more information._

"_What exactly was your plan?" I demanded, raising him up by his collar. The sly look that was plastered on his face made me wanna just beat the living Hell out of him._

"_Hey, take it outside!" Roared the bartender. I dragged Seymour by his collar and led him outside, where I continued my interrogation._

"_Answer me!" I said, slamming him against the wall. He closed his eyes in pain._

"_Basically the plan was to separate you guys," He started, slowly opening his eyes. "Dona somehow stole Yuna's private journal and found something especially sensitive to you. She knew that if she found something good, you'd get pissed at Yuna without letting her have a chance to explain herself. She figured that you'd come running to her, and I could take Yuna to be mine." He finished. I released him and punched him square in the jaw with all of the might I could muster. He stumbled back and landed straight on his ass. Fuck... I messed up badly. How am I ever going to face Yuna? I needed to get out of here._

_I made the stupid mistake of turning my back on him and that was when he decided to attack. He tackled me and pushed me straight to the floor where he proceeded to kick me in the ribs and in my face. I had the wind knocked out of me a couple of times and my eyes flashed open when I felt something cool and smooth rest against my cheek. Seymour had a malicious look on his face which turned into pure glee when he slashed the knife across my face. I roared in pain as I felt the blood seep through my wound and onto my face and the pavement below me._

_He placed the knife in his pocket and I took the opportunity to strike back. For someone who had a lot of alcohol in his system, I had to admit, I was doing a pretty good job. I punched him in the face, knocking him out instantly._

"_Only cowards attack from behind." I spat as I walked away from an unconscious Seymour. I deliberated as to where I was going to go next. I couldn't go home because Jecht would more than likely be as drunk as I am and well... I didn't wanna imagine what he'd do. I couldn't go to Gippal because he'd most likely be over at Rikku's, and being the whipped man that he is, he wouldn't wanna me to disturb their 'alone time'. Wakka's on a date with Lulu, so that's also out of the question. I was currently pissed at Dona, so that's also a no. And Le Blanc and Nooj would be taking care of their child, so I didn't want to disturb them. That only leaves... Yuna. I sighed and started walking towards my destination._

_I banged on her door and waited impatiently for her to open._ Wait...What the Hell am I doing here? _I asked myself. Before I had the chance to run, Yuna opened the door and dropped the baseball bat she was carrying. She looked like she was going to scream. Without saying anything to me, she pulled me by the arm and rested me on the couch, which smelled just like her. I inhaled her scent and closed my eyes. She swiftly moved across the living room towards the closet, where she pulled out the first aid kit that was in there. She tended to my face for about five minutes before she got up to turn off the whistling water in the kettle. She handed me a cup of decaffeinated coffee, just the way I liked it and continued fixing me up._

"_Yuna," I whispered as soon as I finished my coffee and grabbed her hand. She hesitated before finally looking at me. I felt a bit faint. "I'm sorry." I finally whispered before letting the darkness overcome me._

* * *

**Author's Note - Sorry this chapter's not that interesting. But it's necessary. Next chapter's going to be about Yuna confronting Seymour and trust me... it won't be good. Also, thank you to the people that have favorited, alerted and reviewed my story. It seriously means a lot to me. By the way, you can get your drivers license at age 14 and you can legally drink when you're 18 (Tidus and Yuna's age.)**

**:.: Songs Used For This Chapter :.:**

**- The Guillotine by Escape the Fate**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X, the characters, the book, or the songs used/mentioned in this story.**

**Please review! I need opinions and advice! My writing's a bit crappy in my opinion, so it would help if you guys could gimme some tips perhaps?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**- Shattered Images**

* * *


	7. Goes Without Saying

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – Goes Without Saying by Scary Kids Scaring Kids**

**(Highly recommend you listen to this song while reading this chapter.)**

_We both know you want it, come and get it_

_What you waiting for?_

_Now you're scared of what you're seeing_

_Only seen it in your dreams before_

_Cause when you least expect it_

_It will take you, take you by surprise_

_So take advantage, take it all_

_Take it all before the moment dies_

_It comes without saying_

_It's already known_

_It's written all over you_

_It comes without saying_

_Don't let it go_

_Keep it inside of you_

_It comes without saying_

_Now that you've got it in_

_It's slipping through your finger tips_

_You gave and let go_

_Now it's missing from your life again_

_So now you're tearing up the walls_

_Make a mess, try to dig it up_

_But now it's all too late, you'll never find it_

_And the moment's dead, the moment's dead_

_It goes without saying_

_It's already gone_

_It's written all over you_

_It goes without saying_

_You let it go_

_There's nothing inside of you_

_It goes without saying_

_We know you want it_

_What are you waiting for?_

_Take it all and the moment dies_

_It goes without saying_

_Goes without saying_

_It's written all over you_

_It goes without saying_

_Goes without saying_

_Just keep it inside of you_

_It goes without saying_

_Goes without saying_

_It's written all over you_

_It goes without saying _

_Goes without saying_

_There's nothing inside of you_

_It goes without saying..._

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

_"Yuna," I whispered as soon as I finished my coffee and grabbed her hand. She hesitated before looking at me. I felt faint. "I'm sorry." I finally whispered before letting the darkness overcome me._

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Seven – Goes Without Saying_

**Tidus' Point Of View**

_Was it even possible for a headache this painful to even exist?_ Well... I guess I finally knew the answer. Yes, it is possible. It felt like a train was running over my head... if that was even possible as well. I opened my eyes, only to instantly close them when the blinding light of the sun greeted them. I groaned and turned to the side, trying to open them again, this time, successfully. There, resting on the nightstand to the right of me, was a tablet of Alka Seltzer and a glass of water. I silently thanked the person for their kindness and gladly swallowed the awful mixture of the tablet and water. I looked around and nearly pissed my pants when I realized that I was in _her _house. I sat on the bed, trying to recollect memories from the past night. All I could remember though, were just flashes of silver and blue. I sighed deeply and placed my head in my hands. _What the Hell happened last night? And why does my body hurt so badly?_

About five minutes later, a delightful scent floated into the room. It smelled like... cinnamon and eggs, my stomach growled as soon as the luscious scent smashed into my nose. I threw the sheets off of me and got off of the soft bed, too fast for a person in my condition. I had to balance myself on the nightstand to keep myself from falling down and hurting myself even more. I walked the familiar path down into the kitchen and saw Yuna, back facing me, making French toast. _Just like old times. _She must have sensed my appearance because I noticed that she stiffened. She looked over her shoulder and nodded towards the dining table, granting me permission to sit down.

I slowly made my way towards the table and sat down. Yuna set a plate filled with scrambled eggs and two pieces of French toast, then a glass of orange juice right next to it. She brought over the same thing and sat down across the table from me. I had a billion questions for her, but I didn't know how to ask her.... nonetheless even look at her. So I started eating instead. I think I moaned in pleasure. _I swear this food was sent down from Heaven! These are so damn good! _We ate in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the only noise being the forks scraping our plates and the occasional _clunk_ of either of us setting down our drinks.

"S—" I started, the awkward silence now beginning to bother me. "Don't worry, I called us in sick." I looked up at her, she was still eating her French toast.

"Ah—uh—oh, okay, thanks." I stuttered, deciding _not _to ask her anything. She picked up her plate and extended a hand for mine.

"You finished?" She asked, making her voice sound... dead. "Um, no, I'll wash it." I told her. "No, you're sick. Just lay on the couch and pick out a movie or whatever." She said. The shield of no emotion she placed in front of her wavering for the teeniest second.

I picked out a random movie and popped it in the Blu-Ray DVD Player. I turned on the huge flat screen television and laid myself down on the couch. About five minutes later, Yuna joined me and sat down on the floor holding her cellphone pretty tightly. _I wonder who she's expecting a phone call from. _I thought. _It's probably Rikku or Lulu... maybe that Lenne girl... or Shuyin. _Anger pulsed through my veins. I had unwanted images of how I thought their relationship was like. Holding hands, hugging, sharing food, _kissing_. I shuddered at the thought. Yuna looked up at me with worried eyes.

"Are you cold?" She asked, her voice a little higher than usual. A habit of hers that only happened when she was super-nervous. "No, I'm fine. Thanks." I told her. She nodded three times quickly and let out a sigh as she turned her head towards the television, clutching her cellphone as tightly as ever. Suddenly, her cellphone flashed and she almost jumped from surprise. She lightly closed her eyes and reopened them only to read the text message on the screen. I couldn't get a glimpse of what she received, but all I knew was that it didn't make her any less nervous than she was right now. She placed her phone on the table and went to the bathroom. I heard the door shut and the sound of water hitting the sink basin. Seconds later, Yuna came out and retrieved a sweater from the coat racket.

"I'm going out... um, I'll be back in about two hours. Don't worry about my parents, they already know you're here." She said nervously before opening the door and closing it quickly.

_What's going on with her? _I thought, staring at the door she just walked out of. Then, I looked over at the table and realized that Yuna forgot her cellphone.

* * *

**Yuna's Point Of View**

I've decided to ask Tidus what happened to him _after_ my talk with Seymour. My stomach has been bothering me ever since I've decided to confront Seymour. I guess it's because I _finally _found out that he's behind the whole thing. Well, him and Dona. When I helped Tidus into the bed, he mumbled something about leaving his car at the bar so I decided to use it... just for a little while to get to Seymour's house and back. I walked to the bar, ignoring the whistles of drunk men and avoiding the homeless men that begged me for money I didn't have. I found the car and pulled out the car keys that I sneaked out of Tidus' pockets.

I turned off the car alarm and turned on the engine, pulling out of the Bar's parking lot and driving towards my destination, Seymour's house. My heart beating faster and faster as the adrenaline pulsed through my veins.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ah, Yuna. It's been too long." He said, as soon as he opened the door. I gasped at the sight of him and my gut gave me a warning nudge. _Be careful around this guy. _It told me. I gave him a wry smile and a stiff hug. _Wonder where he got _those _bruises from. _I wondered sarcastically.

"Please, do come in." He offered, stepping aside so that I could enter. _Don't enter his house! _"No, it's fine Seymour. I'm only here for a little while. I find that there's something I need to... discuss with you." I saw his lip twitch as he tried to keep his smile on his face. "Then all the more reason to enter," He said as he placed his hand on the small of my back and pushed me into his house. _Fuck. _He sat me down on the couch, watching me with careful eyes. Smart man... I couldn't believe how I was fooled by him all this time. I despised him with all of my heart. He cause so much _pain_.

"Would you like anything to drink?" He offered. I looked around the room and my eyes settled on a mirror. _No, don't accept _anything _from him either._ My instincts said. "Yeah, sure. Do you have any soda?" I asked him, I wanted to try something. I suddenly had a rush of doubt. _He may not be that bad... maybe Tidus is just making everything up._ _Why would he?..... Because he hates Seymour. Well, a little test wouldn't hurt anybody._

"I think we do. Let me check, I'll be right back." He said with a smirk on his face. _Bastard, you failed already. _I patted my pockets, feeling for my phone and realizing that I left it at home. _Shit... how am I gonna let someone know if Seymour tries something? Just keep calm Yuna, just don't let him out of your sight and you'll be fine_. _Be calm, but stay alert. Be calm, but stay alert. _I watched through the mirror as he pulled out two glasses and a two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola. He poured both of them to the rim and looked behind him. _This dude's gonna try and fucking drug me._ Good thing I had my back turned to him. That, and that he didn't know that I was currently watching him as well. He smiled maliciously and pulled something out of his pocket. _Fucker._ He added it to my drink and stirred it with his finger. _Ew, gross. If he's gonna try and drug me, could he at least use a spoon or something?_

He walked back, both drinks in hand and handed one to me. I took it carelessly and pretended to take a drink. _Good things these cups aren't clear or else this would never work._ I finished pretending to drink and smiled at Seymour, who was watching me with a vigilant expression. He half-smiled at me and set his glass of soda down, taking a seat on the couch right next to me.

"So, what happened?" I asked him. He gave me a confused expression. "You have bruises on your face." I pointed out. He touched his face and smiled.

"Oh, _that_," He commenced. _Pretend to take a drink again or you'll make him suspicious! _I did what my instincts told me to do and pretended to take a sip, looking around as I did. Seymour explained how he 'tripped' and somehow managed to get a bruise on his jaw and a black eye. Well, he explained it so detailed that if I didn't know the truth, I might have actually believed him. Such a good actor. Something silver flashed in my peripheral and my eyes snapped to the object. A knife. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I'm so screwed... first, he stabbed Tidus with it... who knows who else he could hurt. _Unfortunately, as stupid as I was, chocked on the soda when I saw the knife, which resulted in me swallowing a very healthy amount. Enough to knock me unconscious. _How the Hell am I going to get him to talk when I'm literally about to faint in about five minutes! Just relax Yuna, and try to get as much as possible out of him. Wait... how about I just get the Hell out of here! Jeez, this stuff is really screwing with my head. I hope Rikku knows that I'm still here._

"Um, you know what, I think it's time I get going." I said, interrupting Seymour's little rant about how stairs shouldn't be so pointy on the sides. I slowly got up before Seymour placed a hand on me to stop me in my tracks. It felt so cold... so _wrong_. "No, don't leave yet Yuna. I've got to tell you something first." I scrunched my eyebrows and nodded once. I hated how I couldn't say 'No' to people. I sat back down and gestured for him to continue.

"We've been friends for a while now, and I just have to admit that I had some sort of... _feelings_ for you back in Freshman year. I thought I got over you when you disappeared so suddenly, but now that you've returned, so have my feelings. So I want to ask you this. Will you, Yuna Vie, accept to be my girlfriend?" He said, nervously. I felt so dizzy all of a sudden, and it sure as Hell wasn't about the question Seymour asked me. _Damn drug_.

"No, Seymour, I can't accept your offer." I told him, a little too harsh. His eyes hardened. "And why not?" He said through gritted teeth. _I hope he seriously didn't think that I liked him at one point. _"Because I don't feel the same way." I answered, annoyed by his persistence. Couldn't he just accept my fucking answer and let me leave? I guess he can't take 'No' for an answer. Go figure.

"So all of that shit was for nothing," He said, now towering over me. "You're telling me that Dona and I fucked up your relationship with Tidus for nothing. All of that planning for nothing. You're telling me that I had to spend my fucking time building your trust for me for _nothing! _You feel nothing! Even after all that shit I've done for you!" I shook my head, ignoring my instincts on staying quiet.

"So it fucking _was _you two! I should have known from the start! I can't believe I've been so _stupid_! I would never have any sort of intimate relationship with you Seymour. You. Disgust. Me. I would never _ever _fuck you. Not even if my life fucking depended on it!" He was breathing heavy as I said those words, adding oxygen to the already towering flame.

"The _Hell _you won't!" He roared as he tackled me towards the couch. I thrashed around uselessly around as he straddled my torso, making it impossible for me to get up. I started screaming through tears and started slapping every part of him that I could lay my hands on. He backhanded me and my whole world faded into black. _"No! Keep trying Yuna! Don't give up!" _My heart told me. _"Ugh, but I'm so tired... can't I just rest for a little while?" _Answered my brain. _"No, just hang on for a little while!" _Replied my heart.

I listened to my heart and managed to pull myself back into reality. He was there, ripping off my top and pulling down my pants. _No! _I started screaming amd thrashing again as I saw him unbuckling his belt. The very last thing I could feel before the drugs overwhelmed me, was the white hot searing pain of my innocence being taken away from me.

* * *

**Author's Note - If the story is a little too strong for you, please don't hesitate to tell me. The very last thing I wanna do is make you guys feel uncomfortable. I also want to tell you about this story that I've read this is just... amazing. It's called A Whistle in the Night and it's by Risea Moone. You can find it in my favorites list if you wanna read it. But you guys should seriously read it. It's, in my opinion, way better than this story.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X, or the characters used.**

**Thanks for reading this chapter guys! It means a lot to me. Seriously. And also a big thanks to everyone that has alerted, favorited, and reviewed this story. You guys are the fuel to my writer's flame.**

**- Shattered Images**


	8. Suicide Season

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – Suicide Season by Bring Me The Horizon**

_We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore.  
The days turn into nights, empty hearts and empty places.  
The day you lost him, I slowly lost you too.  
For when he died, he took a part of you._

_No time for farewells, no chances for goodbyes.  
No explanations, no fucking reasons why.  
I watched it eat you up, pieces falling on the floor.  
We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore._

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
I would climb my way to heaven, and bring him back home again.  
Don't give up hope, my friend, this is not the end._

_We stare at broken clocks, the hands don't turn anymore.  
The days turn into nights, empty hearts and empty places.  
The day you lost him, I slowly lost you too.  
For when he died, he took a part of you._

_Death is only a chapter, so lets rip out the pages of yesterday.  
Death is only a horizon. And I'm ready for sun to set._

_This is suicide season!_

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
we would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again.  
If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
we would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again._

_This is Suicide Season..._

_This is Suicide Season..._

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
We would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again._

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
We would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again.  
If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
We would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again._

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
We would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again._

_If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
We would climb my way to heaven, and bring home again._

_We would do anything to get him back to you.  
We would do anything to end what your going through.  
If only sorrow could build a staircase, or tears could show the way.  
I would climb my way to heaven, and bring him back home.  
I would do anything to bring him back to you.  
Because if you got him back, I would get back the friend that I once knew._

* * *

_On Previous Chapter_

_I listened to my heart and managed to pull myself back into reality. He was there, ripping off my top and pulling down my pants. No! I started screaming again as I saw him unbuckling his belt. The very last thing I could feel before the drugs overwhelmed me, was the white hot searing pain of my innocence being taken away from me._

* * *

_Chapter Eight – Suicide Season_

**Tidus' Point Of View**

"_Tidus..." _Came a voice. I nervously looked towards the cellphone Yuna left on the table. _"Look at me, Tidus." _It said for the billionth time. "Just leave me alone." I muttered through clenched teeth. _Come on, a little peek won't hurt. _Came the little voice in the back of my head. I must seriously be going insane. I nervously bit my lip and looked at the phone. "Ugh, screw it!" I yelled, grabbing the phone off of the table. I scrolled through the more recent texts and settled on a very interesting one from Rikku.

_What? You serious Yunie?! Just talk to him and find out what the Hell his problem is. Just be careful if you do decide to go to his house, okay? And about Dona, remember to save some for me. I've always wanted to kick her ass._

I furrowed my brow in confusion as I read it again. I was pretty sure that they weren't talking about me since I was at Yuna's already, so I went to the outbox and read what Yuna sent to Rikku.

_Rikku, I finally found out that Seymour and Dona are the people behind this whole thing. I might go over to Seymour's house and ask him what he's getting at. After, I'll deal with Dona._

Fear pounded through my veins as I reread Yuna's text message over and over. _She's at Seymour's? Alone?_ Without thinking about anything except for Yuna and her safety, I swiftly sprinted out of the house and ran towards Seymour's.

I pulled out my cellphone and called Rikku.

"_Hello?" _Came her calm voice.

"Rikku," I yelled frantically. "If I tell you to, call the cops and make them come over to Seymour's house. Yuna might be in danger."

"_Wait, what? Danger? She went over to his house? What!" _She sounded close to tears now. "Yeah, just listen to me. Just remember to call the cops." _"Okay, just tell me when." _I snapped the phone closed and continued the run towards Seymour's house. _Fatigue is not an issue. _I told myself repeatedly, not wanting to tire out on the way. When I was about a block from his house, I heard Seymour's angered voice pierce through the silence of the neighborhood.

"The _Hell _you won't!" He said. I increased my speed. Then, I heard the most bloodcurdling scream ever. _Yuna! _"No! No! No!" She screamed repeatedly. Then, silence. _How long are these fucking streets! _About five seconds later, she started screaming again, this time, more frantically, then silence again. I kicked open the door and saw Seymour finish carving letters into Yuna's chest, right above her left breast. _S.G._ They read. His initials. Yuna was unconscious but Seymour acted as if I wasn't there, as if he hadn't heard the loud crash of the door. He reached around Yuna and searched for her bra clasp, not caring that her blood was getting all over his shirt.

"You _sick _bastard!" I yelled as I pulled him off of Yuna before he could do anything else. I punched him in the face and pulled the knife out of his grasp. He got up and prepared to lunge at me, but I waved the knife in his face, stopping him right in his tracks. Without losing eye contact, I slumped Yuna over my shoulder, taking off my jacket to cover her body. A faint warmth spread throughout my body at the contact, but now was not the time for those things. I just needed to get Yuna away from here. I backed out of the house, with Seymour watching me with hatred and caution, looking for the right moment to strike. I managed to exit the house without a problem and ran a little before I laid Yuna down on a soft patch of grass and pulled out my cellphone.

"_Hello." _She answered on the first ring. "Rikku... call the cops." I whispered hoarsely. She let out a sob and hung up the phone. _Is the Hospital really necessary? No, it isn't. I can take care of her myself. I've been doing it for years. _I carried her bridal style towards her house into her room. I put on a nice warm pair of sweats on her and grabbed the first aid kit she healed me with. Thankfully, the bleeding subsided, but her wounds would eventually fade into a scar. _His initials on her body for the rest of her life... bastard. _Tears of anger flooded my eyes at the thought of that. It's like her branded her as his own.

30 Seconds to Mars' _The Kill _floated in the air as I rubbed the disinfectant over Yuna's injuries. "Hello?" I said, putting the cellphone next to my ear. _"Tidus," _Came Lulu's voice from the other side. _"Where's Yuna? Is she ok? Where are you?" _She asked, worry etched into her every question. I could hear her breath pick up as she awaited my reply. "Lulu," I started calmly, hoping to ease her even just a little. "Yuna's fine, she's with me and we're at her house." _"Ok, I'll be over in just a bit." _I started to tell her that she didn't have to come over but she had already hung up. _I see Rikku didn't hesitate to call Lulu. _I finished cleaning her wound and tucked her into her bed, making sure she wouldn't freeze in her drafty room.

I exhaled deeply and awaited Lulu's arrival by just staring at Yuna, thinking about _us. She's like that because of me. It's all my fucking fault. If I wasn't such a bad friend then she would have never left. She wouldn't have turned bulimic. She would have never been with Shuyin. We would still be best friends. I wouldn't feel this empty. _Were just some of the thoughts that raced through my head as I looked at her pale face. Her expression was one that frightened me, she looked... dead. Like she was carved out of stone. She looked so peaceful it scared the crap out of me. I had half my mind made up to just shake her until she awoke just to make sure she was okay.

But that's never gonna happen is it? Thanks to me, she's never going to be _okay_.

Just then, I heard an anxious tapping noise come from downstairs. _Lulu._ I slowly made my way downstairs and opened the door for Lulu, who was accompanied by Wakka. "Ey man, how is she?" He asked. As I opened my mouth, Lulu, who was now crying, harshly asked me where she was. "Where is she?" I pointed upstairs and Lulu raced forward without delay. I closed my eyes and hung my head.

"She's fine." I said, answering Wakka's question.

"How did this happen?" Whispered Wakka. He said it so quietly that I wasn't sure if he was asking me, or himself. "How did that happen, Tidus?" He whispered again, this time more vigorously. I winced at his tone but didn't hesitate to answer. I explained about the encounter with Seymour yesterday, I had started to remember yesterday's events as I was running towards his house, how nervous she was before she left, and how I stopped Seymour from raping her but not from marking her. Wakka didn't say anything for a while after I finished. I started pacing the room.

"So it was them two all along." He finally said, looking at me as he did. I nodded once, confirming his statement. I watched him as he sat down and slammed his hand on a piece of yellow paper. "Damn it!" He roared. _Hey, that wasn't there before..._ I walked over and picked up the wrinkled paper, smoothing it out. It was a letter from Yuna's father. It read:

_Yuna, I have been sent to Kilika on a business trip and I have decided to take your mother with me. I wanted to leave you alone with Shuyin and Lenne when they come over next week. You can thank me later. Have a good time and take care of yourself. See you in two weeks. Love, Braska._

I guess I was kind of happy when I read this note. It meant that her parents wouldn't have to look at her when she's like this. I didn't want to get them involved. Not right now at least. I walked upstairs and into Yuna's room, where Lulu hung up her cellphone.

"The ambulance will be here in fifteen minutes." Panic started to build up inside of me. _What? Why? No!_ "Why did you call the ambulance? She's perfectly fine!" Lulu looked at me in anger and disbelief.

"_Look _at her, Tidus. Look at her and tell me that she's fine." She whispered furiously. I shook my head but didn't reply. She was right. Yuna was anything _but _fine at the moment.

"Why don't you want her to go to the Hospital?" She asked softly. I pulled the hair on my scalp roughly. "Because they'll take her away from me!" I yelled. Lulu froze and didn't say anything else. I decided to change the subject by asking her a question.

"Do you know what happened?" I asked her. She pursed her lip. "No, I don't. But I have somewhat of an idea. Can I just ask you a question Tidus?" She asked. I nodded. "Did he..." She trailed off, unable to finish her question.

"No. I got there before he could do any more damage." She clasped her hands over her mouth. "_More _damage?" She shrieked. I motioned for her to lower her voice and gestured for her to stand beside the bed where Yuna laid. I walked over and pulled down the cover, unveiling the pink lines of Seymour Guado's initials. She gasped and pulled the covers back over Yuna's chest, unable to look any longer. The sirens of the ambulance arriving brought the emptiness I felt whenever I wasn't with Yuna. There was a loud knocking sound sound coming from downstairs, followed by the click of a door and Wakka's voice. Lulu and I looked at each other for about three seconds and she nodded at me.

"It's time." She said, exiting the room. I gently lifted Yuna from the bed and carried her down the stairs. Two men in white took her from me and set her on the small white bed. I watched as they placed her into the little box of Hell on wheels and then something clicked inside my head. "Hey!" I yelled as they were about to close the doors. Lulu had already taken a seat in the passengers seat and Wakka was going to meet us at the Hospital. "Wait for me!" I sprinted into the doors right before they shut.

I held her hand during the whole ride, accepting the warmth that came with her touch gladly. _I'll do whatever it takes for you to stay safe Yuna. _If there was one thing that Yuna taught me, it's to always keep your promises.

When we arrived at the Hospital, since Yuna wasn't in a grave condition, she was just... not okay right now. A kind, aged, nurse took her into a room and asked us if we could wait in the waiting room. I trudged towards the waiting room, finding everyone there. Rikku, Gippal, Wakka and Lulu, who had a thoughtful look on her face.

"How is she?" Asked Gippal. When no one was looking, Lulu mouthed _"Don't tell them about the cuts." _I furrowed my brow and answered Gippal, wondering why she didn't want me to say anything.

"Still unconscious." I replied. He shot me a look of surprise. "But nothing happened to her, how is she unconscious?" He asked. I bit my lip.

"She probably thinks she got raped. The situation was just too much so her body took the only way out... by shutting down." I remarked. Rikku looked up at me with sad eyes. I could only stare back. "I understand us taking her to the Hospital, but why call an ambulance?" Continued Gippal. I pointedly looked at Lulu. She glared back at me. "Would you have taken her to the Hospital yourself? You have to admit she needs medical attention. After all she's been through." I didn't, _couldn't_, say anything afterwards because she was right.

A doctor approached us wearing _that _expression. He looked at the six of us and asked, "Are you all the family of Yuna Vie?"

"I'm her sister." Lulu said, walking over to him. "I'm her cousin." Lied Rikku, following Lulu closely. I walked over to the doctor. He looked at me for half a second but didn't say anything and continued telling us what he found out. "It appears that the patient," "Yuna, the patients name is Yuna." I said, correcting him. I had always hated how doctors didn't use anyone's name. The doctor gave me a wry smile and continued. "It appears that _Yuna _has fallen into a state of Acute Stress Reaction, or in other words, shock. Now this is not to worry..." I couldn't wait for him to finish. My head felt fuzzy at the thought.

"Where is she?" I asked, interrupting the doctor. "She's in 104B." With that, I sprinted towards the room, with Lulu and Rikku on my heels. We arrived at 104B and silently opened the door. She was there, looking the same as before, if not, even worse. Rikku and Lulu walked on either side of her and both looked at her with sorrow and despair. Anger etched itself on Lulu's face the more she looked at Yuna's face and eventually, she exploded.

"This is all your fault, you know!" She screamed, looking at me. I just stood there, letting Lulu tell me the things I couldn't tell myself.

"Hey! Stop yelling at him! If it wasn't for Tidus, Yuna would've... Seymour would have gotten his way with her." Said Rikku softly.

"If it wasn't for Tidus, Yuna wouldn't have even had to go over to Seymour's in the first place!" Retorted Lulu.

Before Rikku could come into my defense, I answered Lulu. "You know... you're right. The only thing I've caused Yuna is pain. It's best that I just... stay away from her." I looked over at Lulu, whose face was now flushing with guilt. "No, Tidus, I didn't mea—" "No, it's okay Lulu. From now on, I promise to stay away from Yuna." _And I always keep my promises._

_"No, I don't want you to stay away." Came a voice. The three of us looked at Yuna in surprise. Her soft multi-colored eyes staring at me, only at me._

* * *

**Author's Note - There you go, Yuna didn't get raped! But she is scarred for life. And don't think everything's all cool with them. Let me just tell you that some people are not who you think they are. Oh, and don't think that the whole Seymour thing is all settled down and over with. Because... it's not.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X, or the characters.**

**Please R&R! Thank you for reading! I'll probably post again either today or tomorrow.**

**- Shattered Images**

* * *


	9. Ignorance

**Redemption**

* * *

**Inspirational Song – Ignorance by Paramore**

_If I'm a bad person,_

_You don't like me._

_I guess I'll go,_

_Make my own way._

_It's a circle,_

_A mean cycle._

_I can't excite you anymore._

_Where's your gavel, your jury?_

_What's my offense this time?_

_You're not a judge but if you're gonna judge me,_

_Well sentence me to another life._

_Don't wanna hear your sad songs._

_I don't wanna feel your pain,_

_When you swear it's all my fault._

_Cause you know we're not the same._

_We're not the same,_

_Oh we're not the same._

_The friends who stuck together._

_We wrote our names in blood,_

_But I guess you can't accept that the change is good,_

_It's good._

_It's good._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_This is the best thing that could've happened._

_Any longer and I wouldn't have made it._

_It's not a war._

_No, it's not a rapture._

_I'm just a person, but you can't take it,_

_The same tricks that once fooled me._

_They won't get you anywhere._

_I'm not the same kid from your memory._

_Now I can fend for myself._

_Don't wanna hear your sad songs._

_I don't wanna feel your pain,_

_When you swear it's all my fault._

_Cause you know we're not the same._

_We're not the same,_

_Oh we're not the same,_

_The friends who stuck together._

_We wrote our names in blood,_

_But I guess you can't accept that the change is good,_

_It's good._

_It's good._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_Ignorance is your new best friend._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_You treat me just like another stranger._

_Well it's nice to meet you sir._

_I guess I'll go._

_I best be on my way out._

_

* * *

_

_On Previous Chapter_

_Before Rikku could come into my defense, I answered Lulu. "You know... you're right. The only thing I've caused Yuna is pain. It's best that I just... stay away from her." I looked over at Lulu, whose face was now flushing with guilt. "No, Tidus, I didn't mea—" "No, it's okay Lulu. From now on, I promise to stay away from Yuna." And I always keep my promises._

_"No, I don't want you to stay away." Came a voice. The three of us looked at Yuna in surprise. Her soft multi-colored eyes staring at me, only at me._

* * *

_Chapter Nine – Ignorance_

"_You sick bastard!" _… What?...

"_Rikku... call the cops."_ … Rikku? What's going on?...

"_Yuna's fine, she's with me and we're at her house." … _Is there something wrong with me? Ouch... is that why my chest hurts so much?...

"_Because they'll take her away from me!" _… Tidus...

"_This is all your fault, you know!" _… No, Lulu... leave him alone. Please... why can't I move...

"_No, it's okay Lulu. From now on, I promise to stay away from Yuna." _I don't know whether it was because I couldn't possibly bear the fact that my best friend was leaving me again or because the drugs were finally wearing off but I could finally muster up enough strength inside of me to actually speak. I opened my eyes and by some strange force landed precisely where Tidus stood. Rikku was glaring at Lulu, who was biting her lip and staring sadly at Tidus, who was hanging his head as if he was ashamed.

"No, I don't want you to stay away." I said, trying to balance myself on my elbows so I could see them better. Lulu reached down and pushed the button that would raise the mattress I was laying on. When it was angled to my liking, I patted her hand and smiled at her. I wouldn't try speaking again. As much as I liked talking, I never knew that it could be so tiring. Rikku cleared her throat and motioned for Lulu to follow her. Once the door closed, I finally glanced at Tidus, who didn't take his eyes off of me the entire time. He slowly walked around towards me and sat on the edge of the bed. He opened his mouth then closed it.

"Cat got your tongue?" I whispered, trying to make things less awkward. It sort of hurt to speak but I didn't let it show. He laughed once and ran his hand through his hair. I watched as each silky lock of hair smoothly fell back into place and I felt an urge to just reach out and softly stoke his hair. He sighed deeply and turned to look at me, his eyes carrying an apology.

"Look, Yuna," He started. Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my chest and I moaned in pain._ Why does my chest hurt so much? _I clutched my chest and doubled over, trying to let the pain subside but failing miserably.

"Crap, the morphine must have wore off." He said as he ran towards the door, calling out for the nurse. He sat down next to me and rubbed my arms, telling me that the pain was going to be over soon. I blinked out the tears in my eyes and tried to steady my breathing. An aged nurse with a kind face opened the door, pushing a cart and giving me a smile that instantly calmed me down. She stopped right next to me and gently shuffled through the items on the cart, looking for more morphine. She gave a small huff of satisfaction and pulled out the vaccination. Once the sharp needle was revealed a sudden tingle of fear ran down my spine. I instinctively cringed away from it as far as I could. The nurse gave me a lenient smile.

"Don't worry, dear. It's only to make you feel better, it's not gonna hurt you." She said. I looked over at Tidus, who gave me a small nod, and stretched out my hand, looking away from the needle. I felt a small pinch and a firm squeeze on my shoulders.

"Okay honey, we're all done." Said the nurse. She bade us both a good day and quietly closed the door as soon as she left. I didn't want to find out what the source of the pain was. I just let myself imagine the worst. I looked at Tidus about to remark about how pleasant the nurse was until I saw the despair in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, placing my hand on his arm.

"How are you doing that?" He asked me. I could tell that he was trying not to explode.

"Doing what?" I questioned, even though I had somewhat of an idea as to what he was talking about. That just set him off.

"Don't you have questions? Aren't you wondering what happened?" He yelled, pulling at his hair in desperation.

"You think I want details as to how I was raped?" I asked him as coldly as I could, outraged at the fact that he was yelling at me because I wasn't asking about my assault. He cringed at the tone of my voice and shook his head quickly. I tried not to overexert myself, I was starting to get tired again.

"See, if you would have asked me about it then you'd know that you weren't actually raped. I stopped Seymour before he could do anything." He said. I blinked quickly, like blinking was my way of comprehending his words.

"So... he _didn't _do anything?" I slowly asked him. He smiled and shook his head.

"I arrived at his house right after you passed out." He answered.

"But why was I in so much pain when I passed out?" I asked him. The pain in my chest from before... I finally got it. I pulled the collar of my shirt as far as it could stretch and stared at the scar on my chest. _S.G._

"Seymour Guado..." I whispered, looking straight ahead at the white wall. Tidus pulled a chair at my side and buried his face into my lap.

"It's all my fault... I couldn't get to you in time. I should've been faster... I could have stopped him before he did that to you." He mumbled to the sheets. I raised a tentative hand and placed it on his head, stroking his hair like I wanted to five minutes ago. I smiled at his stupidity.

"Don't be such a pessimist Tidus," I said. "Just be glad that he didn't do anything worse than that. This," I motioned towards the scar. "Can be easily fixed... or covered up." I hinted. He looked up at me with mischievous eyes.

"A tattoo, eh?" I nodded. I know my parents won't approve of this, but I'd rather them get mad about a tattoo than worry about the whole Seymour situation.

"Hmm, I'll get one with you too. I've been dying to get one since forever." He said, clearly impressed with my quick thinking.

* * *

"Ya ready to go Yuna?" Asked Wakka, opening the door for me as I walked towards the car. I nodded and sat inside the car where a mess of blond joy started squeezing the crap out of me.

"Oh Yunie, I'm so glad that you're okay! I was so worried about you, I'm sorry I couldn't visit you again yesterday, but that mean old doctor kicked us all out!" Exclaimed Rikku, who was bouncing up and down in excitement. Lulu, Gippal and Tidus started shaking their heads in amazement. _How could such a tiny girl carry so much energy?_

"Well... we're all here now... so let's do something fun!" I exclaimed. Then my stomach started to act up and let out an almost inhuman growl. Everybody started laughing and Tidus told Wakka to get us to the nearest fast food restaurant which ended up being a McDonalds. We all stood in line together, ordered our burgers together, and sat in the same table. About halfway through my burger I looked around at my friends. Rikku had already finished her burger and was stealing Gippal's french fries, Lulu had barely eaten three bites, Wakka was on his third burger already and Tidus was laughing at Rikku who had just shoved a handful of fries in her mouth. _I really missed this.... when it was just us. No problems, no responsibilities. Just us._

I looked around once more and found Tidus glaring at something that was across the room. I turned around and found Dona with Le Blanc, eating a salad. Tidus began to get up but stopped him by shaking my head. "Let me." I said. I stood up and walked over to where the twin bitches currently sat. When Le Blanc finally pointed out to Dona that I was coming towards them, Dona looked up at me with a smirk.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" She asked smoothly, resting her face on her hand. I didn't say anything but I continued to stare at her with all the hate I kept locked inside. She kept her face composed, but I could see it in her eyes. She was actually scared. I smirked internally.

"Shouldn't you be off fucking Seymour? Or maybe spending quality time with your best friend, the toilet." She sneered. This was the moment I'd been waiting for since the second I've laid eyes on Dona. I picked up the salad Dona was eating, and poured it all over her, ranch dressing and all. Dona jumped up and started screaming. I felt someone pin my arms behind my back. Dona pulled back her hand and slapped me square in the cheek. Suddenly I felt Le Blanc's grip loosen on me and I charged at Dona, deciding that I'd thank my savior later. I pushed her onto the table and started punching every part of her that I could reach. _This one's for me, and this one's for ruining the best thing I've ever had. I hope you burn in Hell you bitch._

I felt a pair of arms grab me around my waist and place me on the ground where Lulu had to restrain me from attacking Dona again. Tidus was in front of me, arms crossed and head shaking. Dona stood up, lip bleeding and two black eyes starting to appear.

"Look at what she did to me! Look at what that psychotic _bitch _did to me, Tidus!" She screeched, trying to shake the leaves out of her hair. She really did look pathetic. Tidus just stood there, staring at Dona like he was seeing her for what she actually is for the first time in his life.

"It's not like you didn't deserve it." He said. Dona stopped trying to take the salad out of her hair and looked at Tidus with a blank look.

"We know everything." He said. Suddenly Rikku appeared by my side and yelled, "Shouldn't you be taking care of your baby?" At Le Blanc, who sprinted out of the store as fast as her Jimmy Choos could allow her. Rikku fixed her hair and glared at Dona with the rest of us. "Thanks." I whispered. She turned and gave me a cute grin.

"What are you talking about?" Questioned Dona. Was she seriously gonna play innocent? I had half my mind made up to just continue beating the crap out of her.

"Where the _fuck _is my private journal. I know you stole it." I interjected, holding back the punches I wanted to deliver so badly. Dona raised a perfect eyebrow and shot me an evil smirk.

"And what makes you think that I'll tell you?" She jeered. I opened my mouth to threaten her ass when Tidus interrupted.

"Dona, get the fuck out of here. We're over." She laughed once, flipped her hair (most likely forgetting the fact that she currently had ranch all over it) and strutted out of the fast food restaurant with her head held high. "Get over yourself." I yelled as she walked down the street. I sighed and looked around the store, everyone's eyes were either on Rikku, Tidus or me.

"Let's get outta here guys." Piped Rikku. We all followed her out of the restaurant and got back into Wakka's car. Everyone was looking out of their windows, or straight ahead. _Great, good going Yuna, now you've made it all weird again._

"Guys, I'm really sorry for making such a big scene." I said. Everyone's eyes except for Wakka turned to me.

"Yuna," said Lulu. "It's okay. That bitch had it coming. I mean, sure it could have occurred somewhere... _less _public but I'm glad that you got everything off of your chest." _Chest! That's right. I'm supposed to get a tattoo today with Tidus. _"You're just lucky that Dona's slap didn't leave a mark on you."

"Thanks Lulu." I turned to Tidus. "Are you going home?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"No... I'm a mess right now... is it okay if I take a shower at your place? I don't wanna deal with Jecht right now." He asked me. I knew what he was doing. I smiled and nodded my head.

"Okay, well we're closer to your house Yuna, so you'll be the first I'll drop off." Instructed Wakka. "Okay." I said and hummed the first song that came to mind. My Disaster by Silverstein. Tidus and Lulu soon joined me as I started humming the chorus. I never really knew 'till know how lucky I am to have the friends I do. I hummed even more loudly, somewhat happy to be in my current situation.

"We're here." Sighed Wakka. He pulled into my driveway and unlocked the doors. Tidus and I got out of the door and headed towards my house.

"Bye guys!" Screamed Rikku as Wakka pulled out of my driveway. We both waved as the car disappeared into the distance.

"Good thing that my parents aren't here yet, huh?" I said, sending as many thanks to the Fayth as I possibly could. Tidus slapped his forehead and laughed at himself.

"I forgot to tell you. Your dad has been sent away on a business trip to Kilika, he took your mom with him. He wants you to have the house to yourself when Lenne and _Shuyin_ come over." I noticed how he said Shuyin's name with distaste but I didn't question him about it. We entered the house and quickly entered the showers, him taking the downstairs one and I the upstairs one. I managed to take a shower without looking at the scars and changed into the first thing I could find. I went downstairs and ran into Tidus... who only wore a towel around his waist. I felt the blood rush up to my face as I apologized over and over. _A six-pack! Shit... look away Yuna, and don't make any eye-contact. Don't stare!_

"Yeah... I don't have a different set of clothes and my other ones smell... _really _bad." _Did they?_ I didn't really notice and I was sitting next to him practically the whole day.

"Um, I think my dad might have a change of clothes you can borrow. Let me go get it!" I said nervously. As soon as I found a pair of clothes I went downstairs only to see that Tidus was nowhere to be found.

"Tidus?" I called out tentatively. "In here!" Came his voice, from my room it sounded like. I entered the room and found that Tidus had taken my Bring Me the Horizon poster down and was currently frowning while he looked at it.

"Here's a pair of clothes you can change into." I said, placing them on the bed and trying really hard not to stare at his well-built body. Not too muscular and not too lanky. Just how I like it. _Shut up!_

"We need to talk about this." He said, pointing at what the lead singer had written on my poster. _Is he jealous?_ The thought of that made my insides all fluttery. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"What's there to talk about?" I challenged. Tidus seemed at a loss for words. He's still not used to me being able to defend myself.

"I'll leave you to your business." I said as I walked out of the room to let him change. I waited for about five minutes when he finally came downstairs. He looked... ashamed.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" He asked timidly. This took me by surprise.

"No, no, no! Of course not!" I said. He let out a sigh of relief and led the way outside. We both talked animately on the way to the Tattoo Parlor (Yeah, that's what it's called.) and played around a little bit. As soon as we entered the parlor I began to have second thoughts.

"Names?" Asked the clerk, who had two tattoo sleeves and one around his throat. It looked _so_ bad-ass.

"Tidus Curateur and Yuna Vie." Answered Tidus. I clutched his arm tightly and started breathing deeply.

"Yuna, it's okay. I'll be with you when it happens, okay?" I nodded and softened my grip on his arm.

"I need to see some identification." Said the clerk, who was eyeing Tidus' shirt with a peculiar expression. Tidus and I both pulled out our ID's and told him what we wanted and where. Tidus was going to get a tribal tattoo that covered half of his chest and his whole left arm and I was going to write 'Dryhg oui Detic' across my chest.

"Yuna, what does that mean?" Asked Tidus. Clearly he hasn't been paying attention during class. I told him he'll find out soon and entered the little room. "I can go with you... if you want." Offered Tidus. I shook my head and told him I'll be fine. This is something that I wanted to get by myself. The clerk told Tidus that he was going to be attended by his assistant.

"Okay," Said the clerk, who turned out to be one of the tattoo artists. "I'm going to have to ask you to please remove your shirt and undergarments. Don't worry," He said after seeing my expression. "I'm a professional, I've done this before. You can take off your clothes behind that screen over there and you can use your shirt to cover anything you don't want me to see." I did exactly what he said and laid down on the chair.

"That's quite a scar you have there," He muttered. "Mind if I ask you where you got it from?" _Yes, I do mind. _"Uh, no. I, um, got it from a party. Passed out and these little asswipes thought it'd be funny to etch random letters onto my chest." I said nervously. _Smart Yuna... real clever._ The artist obviously didn't believe me but didn't ask me anything about where I got it from after that.

"That scar looks tender, you sure you want me to go over it? It's going to make it hurt even worse." He asked. _At least he's being thoughtful._

"It's okay, I'll deal. I just want it gone." I answered. _There's no going back now... _I heard the little buzzing noise and I closed my eyes, preparing for the pain.

* * *

"There you go! All done!" Said the artist, whose name I found out is actually Julian. He really was a nice guy. The tattoo itself didn't hurt but my scars did. _Damn Seymour. _I looked in the mirror and gasped when I saw the finishing result. Aside from the inflamed red skin, the writing was beautiful. This really is a work of art.

"I love it! Thank you so much!" I said as I put back my clothing. I paid him his cash, which came out to be a total of 75 Gil and exited the little room. Tidus was already waiting for me and what's even worse, or better, whichever way you look at it... he wasn't wearing a shirt. His tattoo was amazing, the patterns were so intricate and delicately drawn. You could barely see the inflamed skin around his tattoo. _Darn you and your stupid tan. _I thought bitterly.

"Thank you guys for coming, and hey, nice Marilyn Manson shirt. You're really lucky to own one of those, there were only about 1000 made worldwide." Said Julian. _Whoa, father never told me that! That's so cool! _We exited the store and marveled about the shirt while walking home, just like old times. We were having so much fun that when we got back to my place, we almost failed to see the silver Audi parked in my driveway.

_Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes and a familiar voice ask me, "Guess who?"_

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note**** - *Ahem* In case any of you were worrying... I'm not dead. But I am awfully sorry. Summer reading assignments are really a pain. Plus I also went on vacation after final exams so really this is actually the earliest time that I could update. But not to worry for I already have like half of Chapter Ten written so it's going up tomorrow! Yeah, I bet that sounds familiar... but this time I'm serious. Seriously. Thanks to everyone that has been reading my stories and for bearing with me. I really _don't _deserve you. Sorry that this chapter is very boring, it's sort of a necessary one though. Also, don't think that Yuna's finished with her revenge with Dona. I've got something planned out for her and I think you guys are gonna like it.**

**This is sort of a lame cliffhanger as well... since it's pretty obvious who the person is. But whatever, I didn't really mean for it to be a cliffhanger, it just seemed an adequate place to end my chapter in. Thank you to all my readers, reviewers and to everyone that has alerted and/or favorited my stories. You guys are awesome.**

**Disclaimer**** - I don't own Final Fantasy X, the characters or the song used in this story.**

**Also, before I sign off, I want to thank someone who has brought me to my senses and gave me the inspiration to write this story at like 2 in the morning. Reckless Dreamer Yuna, she's a very awesome person and I highly recommend you read her story, Looking Through His Eyes. It's awesome.**

**Thank you guys once more for reading, see you tomorrow!**

**- Shattered Images**


	10. Hollow Crown

**Redemption**

**Inspirational Song – Hollow Crown by Architects**

_There..._

_There must be an easier way to release these feelings_

_So, so far from home_

_I need your voice to hold my head together_

_So, so far from home _

_I need your voice to lift my lonely state of mind_

_You..._

_You can't but wait for me to return, for me to show you how I felt_

_These months have blown and they just fly by_

_I need to feel you right by my side_

_So, so far from home_

_I need your voice to hold my head together_

_So, so far from home_

_I need your voice to lift my lonely state of mind_

_Oh there must be an easier way, oh there must be an easier way_

_Oh there must be an easier way to release these feelings_

_As the sea breeze hits my lungs it takes me back to where I belong_

_To where I belong..._

_

* * *

_

_On Previous Chapter_

_We exited the store and marveled about the shirt while walking home, just like old times. We were having so much fun that when we got back to my place, we almost failed to see the silver Audi parked in my driveway._

_Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands cover my eyes and a familiar voice ask me, "Guess who?"_

_

* * *

_

_Chapter Ten – Hollow Crown_

"Lenne?" I asked, taking the pair of hands off of my eyes. I turned around and smiled at the sight of one of the bestest friends I've ever had. Long layered brown hair, creamy skin I've always wanted, two chestnut brown eyes and a nice body. Lenne was absolutely beautiful. Shuyin always said that we looked almost identical but I couldn't see it, she was basically everything I wanted to be...

"Ouch!" I yelled, softly patting my chest. Lenne's facial expression changed from one of sheer joy to one of worry. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing." I said, trying and failing to come up with a cover story. I could see Tidus shoot me a look of confusion from the corner of my eye. That reminds me...

"Lenne, this is Tidus. Tidus, this is Lenne!" I said, finally taking Lenne's attention away from my soon-to-be discovered tattoo. Thank _God_ for A.D.D. I saw her eyes light up at the sight of Tidus... _fuck me_. She finds him attractive.

"Hello." Said Lenne, extending her hand towards Tidus. Tidus gave me a look that told me we needed to talk later and took Lenne's hand in his. She giggled. I tried really hard not to roll my eyes. Tidus shot her one of his trademark smirks. Yeah, the one that makes anyone go weak at the knees. Another giggle. He knows she thinks he's hot. This is gonna be one _long _visit.

"Where's Shuyin?" I asked, looking around. Tidus grimaced and I smiled internally. _Two can play at that game._

"Oh, he decided to look around the city. He's always been quite the curious one as you know very well." She said, twirling a lock of her hair and giving all of her attention once more to Tidus.

"Tidus, do _you _like to walk around foreign cities?" _Oh, enough!_ This time, even my own will power wasn't enough to stop my eye roll. _Wow Lenne, you can be so ditzy at times._

"Let's go inside, it's kind of cold out here." I said, taking them both in each hand and dragging them inside. They both settled on the couch as I offered them something to drink.

"Wait. Let me guess," I started. "Lenne, you want some coffee and Tidus, you want a coke?" I guessed. Lenne smiled while Tidus seemed surprised that I would remember his favorite beverage. "I'll be right back." I said as I walked into the kitchen and started heating some water. As I dug through the refrigerator, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me. _You're gonna have to be smarter than that if you want to scare me, Tidus._

"What do you want Tidus?" I asked, not turning around to look at him. No answer. I heard Lenne giggle again. I took out the two-liter bottle of Coca-Cola and looked around the kitchen as I grabbed a mug and a cup. There was a flash of black right outside the window. My instincts told me _not _to open the window and look outside. I listened to them, as I should have done yesterday. I warily turned off the boiling hot water and started to brew Lenne's coffee. _Just shake it off Yuna. Just a trick of the light, that's all._ I told myself. I listened in on the voices that were coming from the living room. "No, just broke up with my last one today." I started stirring faster. I took both cups and walked into the living room, where Lenne had a grin on her face. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Here," I said as I sat in the one-seater across from them. "So Lenne," I said, diverting her attention from... _other _things. "Where's your luggage?" I asked her, realizing that we still didn't bring it in.

"It's in the car, it's okay, we can just bring them up later." I could tell she wanted some... alone time with Tidus. She turned to him and had a hopeful look on her face.

"It's okay. I'll just bring it up myself. Can I have your keys?" I asked. She shrugged and tossed me the keys. I saw Tidus stand up but I waved him down. "I can do it myself." I said, a little too harshly. He shot me a confused look and I was pretty sure that he was staring at me as I walked out of the door. I pulled out my cellphone and dialed Rikku, who answered on the first ring.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Rikku, it's Yuna. What are you doing right now?"

"_Not much. Just watching some T.V... why?"_

"Uh," I looked at the open door. "Can I come over?"

"_Sure, but what about Tidus?" _She asked. I frowned and glared at the concrete under me.

"He's entertaining himself in other things." I said bitterly. "I'll be over in about 20 minutes. Is that alright with you?"

"_Sure!" _She said enthusiastically. _"See ya later Yunie!" _She squealed. I shut the phone and opened the truck to the Audi. I groaned at the humongous pile of luggage stuffed inside the car. I hauled two bags at a time into the guest room next to the living room. Avoiding eye contact with anyone the whole time which was probably useless because they looked deeply in conversation. Then I finally finished, I went upstairs and grabbed the things I'd need and was about to reach the door safely until...

"Where are you going?" They asked simultaneously. _Oh wow! They actually noticed I was still here!_

"Out," I started. "I probably won't be back 'till tomorrow so just help yourselves to whatever you want." I slammed the door without any further explanation and walked towards Rikku's house. A nearby door opened then closed and I heard some running.

"Yuna!" I started walking faster. _Dammit_. An arm grabbed me and spun me around.

"What the fuck's up with you?" He asked, staring at me hardly.

"I could ask you the same thing!" I said. "Let me ask you something Tidus. Do you even _like _her?" He softened his gaze and loosened his grip on my arm.

"You're jealous." He said with a smirk. _Yeah right. Me? Jealous? You've _got _to be kidding me._

"Oh get _over _yourself. I'm not jealous." I said, turning around and crashing into an oncoming person. Tidus started cracking up from behind me.

"Oh damn, sorry Yuna." Said the victim. I snapped my head towards the person and was met with a warm smile.

"Shuyin!" I screamed as I wrapped my arms around him. I heard Tidus' laughter cease from behind me. I unwrapped my arms from around his waist and smiled up at him.

"How have you been Yuna?" He asked me warmly. I looked into his familiar blue eyes and blushed.

"I've uh, been fine! Look! I got a tattoo!" I said as I pulled down the collar of my shirt. Shuyin looked at me as if I was mentally retarded or something but looked at the tattoo across my chest.

"Whoa!" He said. "When did you get that?" I could tell that he was clearly impressed with the tattoo. I bit my lip and answered. "Like two hours ago."

"Wow." He leaned forward. "That's pretty sick. Did you tell Lenne about it?" He asked, looking up into my eyes. We were only like two inches away from each other. I felt the blood rush up to my face and decided that I needed some time to think. _Make something up, anything. Whatever, just as long as you get the Hell out of here._

"Uh, no. I didn't. I don't think I will either. I have to go now, uh, I'll see you later?" I said, walking away before anything else could happen. The silhouette of a black cloak fluttered against the walls of the nearby alley. _Don't do it Yuna... just keep on walking and you'll be fine. _I told myself. I took a deep breath and continued towards Rikku's place.

"So uh, what's the deal with Lenne? Why didn't you tell her about the tattoo?" Asked Tidus. _Ah, crap. _I forgot he was still still there. "Hey, take it easy. I didn't mean to scare you." He said once he looked at my expression.

"Lenne hates tattoos." I replied, picking up my pace.

"Why?" He asked, he sounded closer than before.

"Why do you care?" I asked him.

"Just curious... does that _bother_ you?" I could just imagine the smirk on his face when he said that.

I figured it wouldn't hurt to tell so I turned to face him. "You see, Lenne had a boyfriend about two years ago... Devon, I think was his name. Anyways, they were pretty serious, like it was _sickening _just to be in the same room serious. Now, Lenne's a strong believer on not having sex 'till you're married so she wouldn't have sex with Devon no matter how much he insinuated the idea. Every time that Devon suggested sex and Lenne refused, she would become afraid that he'd leave her because of it. 'If someone was truly in love with you, they'd wait until you're ready to have sex. Not pressure you into it.' was what I constantly told her." I could feel the same feeling I felt two years ago when I tried persuading Lenne to look at things my way. Sadness... sadness and frustration.

"At one point she told me that she was going to finally have sex with Devon and when I told her that she should have sex because she wants to, not because she _had _to she said that I was full of it... the following morning after she did the deed, she went to a tattoo parlor and had his name written on her shoulder. Five minutes after she got the tattoo, he broke up with her. By text." I finished, shaking my head at the memory.

Tidus' face remained expressionless for about a minute. Just when I was about to turn around and continue walking, he asked, "Then why does she hate tattoos?" _Why the sudden interest in her life?_

"She hates tattoos because they're permanent. Well not exactly, but she said the tattoo hurt really badly when she got it so she's too scared to get it removed. So getting a tattoo is basically just screwing up your life in Lenne's eyes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to Rikku's house." I turned and continued in the direction of Rikku's house.

"You're leaving them alone on the day of their arrival? That's not very nice of you Yuna." I stopped in my tracks and turned around, facing a smirking Tidus. I pulled out myself and sent Rikku a text.

_Change of plans... how about you come over tomorrow? You, Lulu, Gippal and Wakka. I'll introduce you to Lenne and Shuyin and we can have a huge slumber party at my place._

I snapped my phone shut and stalked towards my house, groaning internally. I arrived at home to find Lenne and Shuyin bringing their things into their rooms... _should have probably moved the stuff in the living room instead of the guest room... that's more work for Lenne._

"Need any help?" I asked as I hung my coat on the rack. They both shook their heads. "Well... is anyone hungry? I could order us some pizza." I offered. They both happily agreed and continued placing their belongings into their rooms.

"Where will I sleep?" Asked Tidus.

"Well where do you wanna sleep?" I asked him, understanding the problem. Shuyin was taking the downstairs guest room and Lenne is taking my parent's room.

"How about your room?" He asked casually. I looked at him and wondered if he was actually serious. He raised his hands and gave an innocent look.

"What? We used to do it all the time when we were younger."

"But that was then and this is now!" I said, surprised that he would propose such an idea.

"Okay, how about this. We'll try tonight. If you don't like it then I'll just crash somewhere else." I didn't have the energy to argue with him so I just agreed... is what I kept thinking to myself. My phone rumbled and signaled that I had received a text message. _Rikku._

_Okay, I'll tell them. See you tomorrow Yunie!_

I put my phone back in my pocket and ordered the pizza, about an hour later, we were all seated in the living room laughing at the story Tidus had just finished telling. Lenne being the loudest out of all of us. _What's up with her... she's different than I remembered. I've only left about a week ago and she seems so... I don't even know. But I'm gonna find out soon._

"So Lenne, Shuyin, I'm throwing a slumber party here tomorrow. I invited Rikku, Wakka, Lulu and Gippal." I said, catching both of their attention.

"Okay! That's awesome!" Squealed Lenne. I gave her a smile. _That's the Lenne I remembered... maybe it's just Tidus. _"So... Tidus. How long was your relationship with your last girlfriend?" Shuyin and I exchanged incredulous looks and laughed silently to ourselves. _Yeah, definitely just Tidus._

"About three years." Answered Tidus, glaring at the floor in front of him. Lenne must've realized that it wasn't something that he was willing to talk about and excused herself to go to sleep. Shuyin said the same thing and bid us both a goodnight. I checked the time and almost dropped my soda in surprise. Almost one in the morning...

"What are we doing about school?" I asked him... wondering why we're all been missing these past few days and if we'll get in trouble for it.

"Well, we cut about three days of school and next week is a two-week vacation so don't worry about that." He answered. I stifled a yawn and told him that I was going to bed. He grabbed the remote and said that he was gonna be upstairs in a few minutes. I changed into a beater and a pair of clean shorts and tucked myself into bed. Three seconds later the door opened then closed.

"I usually sleep in my boxers... is that okay for you?" Asked Tidus. Good thing it was dark enough to hide my blush.

Yeah," I called out. "It's okay." I pushed away unnecessary thoughts and focused on the fact that I was going to sleep with Tidus. _Wait... this isn't really helping._ It didn't seem to be that long ago when I absolutely hated his guts. I felt the cushion sink and the sheets glide across my body. Then, I felt his arm across my waist. He must have noticed my stiffness because he was apologizing right after.

"Sorry... is this okay? I like having to hold something when I'm sleeping." I nodded and squirmed closer to him, closing my eyes and falling asleep just seconds later.

"Yuna..." A light shake.

"Yuna, it's almost noon... we have to wake up."

"_Whazzamatter?" I said as I opened my eyes, a small chuckle came from somewhere to the left of my head. I turned my head and came face-to-face with Tidus... he chuckled once more and looked down at my lips, which were merely centimeters from his. He leaned a little closer and..._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note**** - So I just got my file back from my editor... sorry for the delay. I turned it in to her on Tuesday or so and just got it back like five minutes ago. I'm not so sure if I'm going to need an editor for the upcoming chapters. Well the next chapter is going to have to be one of my favorites since it sort of sets the path for the following chapters. The sleepover is going to be one heck of a party is all I have to say for the following chapter. See if you can guess what's going to happen. If you can... I'll be immensely surprised and you'll have my eternal admiration. Oh, also, major thanks to everyone that has reviewed my stories. Thank you guys so much. You guys rock! Well anyways, thanks for reading and I'll see you in Chapter Eleven - A Single Moment of Sincerity.**

**Disclaimer**** - I don't own Final Fantasy X, or the characters used. Just the plot.**

**-- Shattered Images**


	11. A Single Moment of Sincerity

**Redemption**

_False tales lies of a washed up prom queen_

_Why'd you tell me everything was fine? _

_Everything was okay?_

_Get on your knees_

_Oh, why you tore me up?_

_No, why every thing's dead inside_

_Oh, you could've told me, at least I would've known_

_No, you should've told me and carved it in my bones_

_Tear out my eyes to remove the gift of sight_

_Proves ever cursing still, the light can't find us here_

_Painted red my eyes are burning_

_And still you hide behind the waves_

_Your silence is so haunting_

_Your words relentless, burying in_

_My heart betrays me for a last first kiss goodbye_

_Fall asleep and jar one eye_

_Spilling every lie you've spilled before_

_But I'm not forgiving you_

_What happened between us, what can I give to save us_

_Being righteous isn't quite enough_

_What happened between us, what can I give to save me_

_These oceans are far between our hearts (these oceans are)_

_The breathing has got too hard_

_Scream with the voice of an angel_

_Lie in the name of the gospel_

_Smile in the face of your victims, smile for me_

_This is my last request to you_

_Hold my breath_

_I was clutching on to disaster_

_Hold my breath_

_

* * *

_

Chapter Eleven – A Single Moment of Sincerity

"_Whazzamatter?" I said as I opened my eyes, a small chuckle came from somewhere to the left of my head. I turned my head and came face-to-face with Tidus... he chuckled once more and looked down at my lips, which were merely centimeters from his. He leaned a little closer and..."_

"Wakey wakey Yuna!" Screamed Lenne as the door opened with a loud bang. Tidus laid his head back on the pillow and let out a deep sigh. I turned towards Lenne and studied her face for a second while she glared at the floor. She looked somewhat grim and preoccupied.

Since I was feeling bitchy, I asked Lenne, "Is something wrong?" She looked at me and gave me a twisted smile, like she'd just figured something out.

"Nope, every-thing's all fine! Come on down, Shuyin's making pancakes!" I looked over at Tidus and we exchanged confused glances. _What's up with her?_

"You guys coming or what?" She asked in a freakishly peppy tone.

"Yeah, we'll be right down Lenne. Just please, give us a moment to wake up properly." I said as I rolled off of Tidus and laid on my own pillow once I was absolutely positive that Lenne was gone. The familiar blush from yesterday creeped onto my face as I remembered where Tidus and I left off before we were so rudely interrupted. _He was about to kiss me._

"Oh Yuna, I've been meaning to tell you something before we were interrupted." Came Tidus' voice. _What's he going to say? _I felt my face get even hotter than before.

"Yes?" I called out, determinately staring at the ceiling.

"... You're eyes are... really pretty." I blinked once and continued staring up at the ceiling.

"You've seen them before... it shouldn't be anything different." I said, gulping down what seemed like a huge brick.

"No, I mean up close they look really nice. See, look," He grabbed my arm gently and turned me onto my side. "If you get up close to them like this," He moved closer. "Then they'd look even prettier than they normally do." He furrowed his brow. "Are you alright?" I smiled and hugged him. He must have noticed that my eyes were a little teary. I saw his beautiful tattooed arm reach over and push me closer to him.

"Dryhg oui Detic." I whispered. I lifted his arm gently and placed it at his side as I lifted myself off of the bed. As soon as I reached the door I turned around and gave him another smile. "Thank you Tidus." His thoughtful expression soon turned into a beautiful grin. I opened the door and made my way downstairs, following the scent of cinnamon towards the kitchen. I entered the kitchen and found Shuyin shaking his head and Lenne looking frustrated. _I wonder what happened..._

"Is something wrong?" I asked as I took out a couple of plates and cups. Lenne looked up at me and smiled warmly. "Shuyin kinda burned the pancakes." She said, pointing towards a pile of semi-burnt pancakes. _So... she's frustrated because Shuyin burnt some pancakes. Unlikely. She must have anger management issues or think I'm stupid. I think it's the latter. There's something that's going on here and I'm going to get to the bottom of this._

I plastered the most realistic smile I could on my face and told her that I'd enjoy Shuyin's pancakes anyway. He turned and shot me a breathtaking grin and I blushed in return. _Dammit._ My thoughts traveled to about five minutes earlier, when I thought Tidus was about to kiss me. I felt very... strange. I took a bite out of my pancakes and let myself fantasize what could have and never will happen.

* * *

_You're so chicken... I can't believe you didn't kiss her._

_Lenne interrupted us!_

_You could have kissed her after!_

_I know, I just... chickened out. Besides, I think she might have a thing for Shuyin. She blushes every time he looks at her! How am I supposed to compete with that?_

…

_That's what I thought..._

I stood up and put on a pair of leftover sweat pants as I replayed the last ten minutes in my head.

_I opened my eyes slowly, growing accustomed to the light coming in from the window and groaned slightly, turning to my side. My eyes flashed open once I remembered who I was sleeping next to. Yuna Vie. I didn't know whether to just get up and leave or go back to sleep, so I just chose to look at her. She looked so...calm. You couldn't tell just by looking at her that she was in a shock just two days ago. It was actually very strange that she's so... strong. The hospital let her out because they had no other reason to, regardless of my efforts to persuade Yuna into staying a bit longer just in case, keep her in the hospital. I hated how much of a stranger Yuna has become. Sure we knew stuff about each other but she's changed so much over these past few years, it's like meeting her for the first time all over again. I think... I think we're gonna need to talk. Just me and her about everything, regardless of how much I don't want to._

_I moved my head towards the wall when I heard some movement and decided that it was time for Yuna to wake up._

"_Yuna." I said softly, shaking her soft arm gently. She sighed deeply and moved half of her body on top of mine. _Crap! What do I do now?...

"_Yuna, it's almost noon we have to wake up." I said, shaking her a bit more harder this time._

"_Whazzamatter?" She said. I laughed at her. She turned her head to me and that's when I realized how close we were. I could feel her soft breath against my mouth. I laughed once more and looked down to her lips, never in my life have I ever seen such inviting lips before. I leaned forward and just when our lips were about to touch._

"_Wakey wakey Yuna!" Screamed Lenne as she burst into Yuna's room. I laid back down on the bed once I saw the look on Lenne's face. For a second there, she seemed... pissed. I was pretty sure Yuna didn't catch it but that look kind of freaked me out. Ever since I first met her, I knew that Lenne wasn't good news. She rubbed me the wrong way and usually my first opinion of people... doesn't steer me wrong. I stared at the ceiling as Yuna asked Lenne if something was wrong._

"_Nope, every thing's all fine! Come on down, Shuyin's making pancakes!" She said in false happiness. I balanced myself on my elbow and exchanged glances with Yuna._

"_You guys coming or what?" She asked._

"_Yeah, we'll be right down Lenne. Just please, give us a moment to wake up properly." Answered Yuna as she rolled off of me. I already missed the warmth that came along with her touch. I looked over to her and almost gasped when I saw her blushing while looking at the ceiling. _I wonder what she's thinking about. _For a second there, I had a burst of courage. I felt like I could tell Yuna how badly I wanted to kiss her. Now that I look back on it, I guess I was thinking that maybe this whole situation from Freshman year would be forgotten if I told Yuna about it._

"_Oh Yuna, I've been meaning to tell you something before we were interrupted." I said, determined to tell her how I felt. She blushed even harder and I found myself geting nervous._

"_Yes?" She said. I started having second thoughts. _What if she gets mad? What if she rejects me?...

"_... You're eyes are... really pretty." I said, chickening out at the last second._

"_You've seen them before... it shouldn't be anything different." She said softly._

"_No, I mean up close they look really nice. See, look," I gently grabbed her arm and turned her towards me. "If you get up close to them like this," I moved closer to her. "Then they'd look even prettier than they normally do." I mentally applauded myself for my quick thinking but then I noticed that Yuna looked like she was about to cry. "Are you alright?" I said, thinking about something I said that could have made her cry. Suddenly she hugged me. As soon as I felt her warmth spread throughout my body I reached over and hugged her tighter._

"_Dryhg oui Detic." She whispered as she wriggled her way out of my grasp. _What does that mean? And why does that sound familiar? _Once she reached the door, she turned around and said, "Thank you Tidus." I smiled at her in return and laid back down on the bed as soon as she exited the room. _What does that mean?

I spent the next five minutes wondering what the Hell 'Dryhg oui Detic' meant. _Should have paid more attention in Al Bhed class, idiot. _I thought to myself. I pulled out my cellphone and texted Rikku.

_Translation please? Dryhg oui Detic._

I put on a clean leftover shirt and headed downstairs, awaiting Rikku's reply. Once I entered the kitchen I was greeted by the two eyes I loved most in the world and the one smile that could change my mood in an instant.

"Hey Tidus! I already gave you a plate so you can just sit down." Said Lenne, pointing to a plate that I noticed was the farthest away from Yuna. I grabbed the plate and placed it across from Yuna. My cellphone vibrated once I sat down and I anxiously opened it to see what she said.

_Thank you Tidus._

A confused look settled onto my face as I wondered why on earth Rikku was thanking me. I looked up and was met with Yuna's anxious expression and suddenly, everything made sense. I quickly remembered what little Al Bhed I could and managed to say...

"Oui'na famlusa Oihy."

* * *

"So what's up?" She asked once we finally settled onto the edge of the bed.

"Yuna...," I started, I tried to use my words carefully. I couldn't screw this up now.

"What Tidus?" She asked warily.

"As much as I _don't _wanna talk about this. We're going to have to if we want things to be like they used to." I said, taking her hand in mine. I stared at her hand for a while and waited for her reply. Once I figured that she wasn't going to give me one I started talking.

"Well for starters," I said, not taking my eyes off of her delicate hand. "What are we going to do about Seymour?" I felt her hand twitch inside of mine at the sound of his name.

"I-I don't know. The police couldn't find him... they've looked _everywhere. _It's kind of like he disappeared into thin air." She said. I looked up at her, speechless. "He could be anywhere, you know?" She continued. "Everywhere I go, I feel like I'm being watched... is it not enough that he already messed up everything that's good in my life but now he has follow me around too?"

"Yuna... if the police couldn't find him around here, then that must mean that he's out of town. Somewhere far away, like in Luca or something. I guess what I'm trying to say is... you need to relax. Take your mind off of it. He's gone now and that's all that matters."

"How Tidus? How is that possible? He's out there somewhere and I can't do a damn thing about it. The cops are doing a half-ass job at searching for someone that shouldn't really be that hard to find considering he's the only half-Guado, half-Human alive. I don't know Tidus. I just don't fee—"

"How about we just talk about something else." I offered, figuring that I'd come across the whole situation badly. She wiped her hand across her face and nodded.

"You said that we're going to have to talk if we wanted things to be like they used to? Well... let's talk." She said, taking a deep breath.

"First off, I just wanted to apologize... I didn't trust you when I should have and made Freshman year Hell for you..." I said, avoiding her gaze now.

"Why?" She interrupted. "I mean was it enough that you had to fucking make out in front of me with the girl whose job it was to try and humiliate me twenty-four seven but you had to join her as well?" I swallowed the the huge lump in my throat and felt the water sting my eyes.

"I was so hurt that you revealed my secret that I just... went berserk I guess." I explained. Yuna yanked her hand out of my grasp and stood up.

"You could've asked me! But instead you decided to believe someone who you _knew _hated my guts. I can't believe that you'd think I would ever tell anyone such a personal secret. I don't know what hurts the most. The fact that you'd think I could ever be capable of such a thing or you doing all those terrible things to me during Freshman year." I heard her retreating footsteps and the sound of the door slamming shut. Now that I'm looking back on it... I acted so recklessly. She's right. _Why didn't I just ask her?_ I congratulated myself for managing to screw things up again.

"How about we play Have You Ever?" Exclaimed Lenne, holding up two bottles of Vodka. I smirked. _Now it's time to get this party started!_

"I'm in." Said Lulu, sitting down on the floor. Wakka sat beside her. He'd never pass up a chance to get to know drunk Lulu.

"We're in too!" Said Rikku, dragging Gippal towards the circle.

"I guess it'll be fun." Said Yuna, looking a bit unsure.

"Come on Yuna, sit down next to me." Said Shuyin, patting the floor beside him. Yuna smiled and took her seat. I sat down determinately directly across from Yuna. Lenne took a seat next to me.

"Alright. I'll go first." Said Lenne, after we all had our shots in front of us.

"Have you ever... kissed someone?" _Jeez... you'd think she'd come up with something more creative! _I lifted my glass up to my face and noticed that Yuna and Shuyin were looking at each other, blushing. They both faced away from one another and drank their shots. I narrowed my eyes and drank my own as everyone else did the same. _It's not like she belongs to you, idiot. You brought this onto yourself. So quit whining and shut up. _We all grabbed our second glass and awaited the next question.

"My turn." Said Lulu. "Have you ever told a lie about a friend?" All of a sudden the air around me felt heavy. I stared at the floor while I drank my other shot, not wanting to meet the piercing glare Yuna was giving me at the moment.

"Alright I'm next then." Said Wakka, putting in extra cheerfulness into his voice to clear the tension. Well, it was either that or he's already getting a little tipsy. Wakka can't hold his alcohol to save his life. "Have you ever... had sex before?" Yeah... he was drunk alright. I looked up and noticed that everyone's eyes were on me. I grabbed the bottle of vodka and filled up my third glass, staring at the ceiling as I drank the shot. _Happened once with Dona. We were both very, and I mean very desperate. _Apart from Lenne, I was the only one who drank and I felt like shit, like I betrayed everyone. My head started feeling a little fuzzy. I figured it shouldn't be much longer 'till I pass out.

"My turn then." Said Shuyin. "Have you ever had to cut someone out of your life?" At this point it wasn't something I could stop. My eyes flashed over to Yuna only to see that she was staring at me with the saddest expression I've ever seen.

"Shuyin! Why would you ask such a question?" Barked Lenne. She really did look furious. I could tell by the way that she looked at Yuna that she knew how much this question would affect her. Maybe I was wrong... maybe she's not as bad as I thought she was. Yuna took her drink and downed it, taking a few deep breaths. I downed mine soon after, ignoring the fact that my head was getting even more dizzier.

"Alright. My turn!" Said Rikku, casting a nervous glance at Yuna. "Have you ever streaked?" She giggled. I was surprised when Rikku, Lulu, Wakka, and Gippal all drank their shots. _When did they ever do that?_

"My turn then." Slurred Gippal, who was clearly drunk now. "Have you eve—" He fell back before he could even finish.

"Yeah... he never _could _hold his alcohol." Said Rikku as she lifted Gippal and lay him across the couch.

The ringing of a loud bang woke me up. It took me a while before I remembered where I was. I turned on my back and stared at the ceiling while I tried to wait for the raging headache to pass. I tried thinking of what happened before I passed out but I couldn't remember anything. Just a lot of darkness.

_I almost jumped out of the bed when I realized that there was someone else on the bed with me. I turned to see who it was and buried my face with my hands when I realized that I just had drunk sex with Lenne._

* * *

**Author's Note**** - Here we are. This chapter finally sets the tone for the upcoming chapters. Had a little case of writer's block but I overcame it and I think I did an okay job. If you have any complaints or questions please don't hesitate to ask. If there's something that's uncomfortable for you please tell me and I'll try and sort it out. This has been my favorite chapter so far, I absolutely loved writing the chapter regardless of the writer's block that came along with it.**

**Also, I want to thank Reckless Dreamer Yuna for pushing me to update. If it wasn't for her then I probably wouldn't have updated since chapter eight. So I just want to say. Thank you so much. You telling me to update was probably the push I needed and for that, I'm very grateful. So once again, thank you Reckless Dreamer Yuna. You're a good friend. Also people, read her story Why?. It's very interesting so far.**

**I'll probably be updating once a week but that might change since school's starting in about two weeks and I'm entering my Sophomore year in high school so that's gonna be kind of tough. I'll continue to write my story though but I can't promise any updates since I can't seem to keep them.**

**Disclaimer**** - I don't own Final Fantasy X or the characters. Just this plot.**

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story and my profile too! You guys = awesomeness. Chapter Twelve - Loves Me Not is coming up soon. Keep in tune!**

**-- Shattered Images**


	12. Loves Me Not

**Redemption**

_I complicated our lives_

_By falling in love with him_

_I complicated our lives_

_Now I'm losing my only friend_

_I don't know why, I had to try_

_Living my life on the other side_

_Now I'm so confused_

_I don't know what to do_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me..._

_I started blurring the lines_

_Because I didn't care_

_I started crossing the line_

_Cause you were never there_

_No where to turn,_

_No one to help,_

_It's almost like I don't even know myself_

_Now I have to choose_

_I don't know what to do_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me..._

_No where to turn,_

_No one to help,_

_It's almost like I don't even know myself_

_Now I have to choose_

_I don't know what to do_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_He loves me, he loves me not_

_She loves me, she loves me not_

_Loves me not..._

_

* * *

_

Chapter Twelve – Loves Me Not

_The ringing of a loud bang woke me up. It took me a while before I remembered where I was. I turned on my back and stared at the ceiling while I tried to wait for the raging headache to pass. I tried thinking of what happened before I passed out but I couldn't remember anything. Just a lot of darkness._

_I almost jumped out of the bed when I realized that there was someone else on the bed with me. I turned to see who it was and buried my face with my hands when I realized that I just had drunk sex with Lenne_.

I tried to remember really hard about the events that had happened last night, but nothing came. Every time I thought I remembered something, pain spread throughout my head like flash fire. I looked over towards the slumbering Lenne and felt anger rise up inside of me. I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at myself. At how I ended up being so careless.

"_She doesn't care about you like I do..."_

"_Don't worry, everything will be fine..."_

I swiftly climbed out of bed and dressed myself as fast as I could before anyone checked the room and walked downstairs, where everyone was eating out of a bowl of cereal while watching an old episode of Spongebob Squarepants.

"Hey guys." I said. Everyone groaned.

"Could ya keep it down? We're kind of hung over." Said Wakka, as he took another bite of his Lucky Charms. Lulu got up and walked towards the kitchen, carrying a pensive look on her face. I followed her into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl for myself.

"So how's Lenne?" Came Lulu's voice. I froze. _Did she see us in the bed together?_

"I saw you guys in the bed together." She answered, as if she read my mind. Although it's Lulu we're talking about so she might have.

"So... you and Lenne. I didn't even know you liked her like that." She said.

"I don't." I replied.

"Oh?" Said Lulu. She sat on the counter and looked me straight in the eye. "Then why'd you sleep with her?" Her red eyes pierced my soul, they made me feel even more terrible than I already felt.

"We were drunk." I said, watching the cereal fall into my bowl.

"Are you planning to tell Yuna about this?" She asked.

"Are you?" I retorted, getting a little annoyed with her at the moment.

"No I won't," she said, jumping off the counter. "Because you see, unlike you, I actually care about Yuna's feelings." _I am such an asshole._ "As much as I'd _love _to tell her that the person who hurt her the most has somehow managed to find another way of hurting her by having sex with the one person who helped her get through tough times, I won't. I expect you won't tell her either."

"It's not like she's gonna care." I said. "She could care less about what happened to me."

"If you're looking for consolation, you've come to the wrong person." Chuckled Lulu. "But tell me this, if she didn't care about what you did, do you think she would have left Besaid three years ago?" I couldn't say anything after that because I knew she was right. A huge flood of different thoughts and emotions poured into me as I replayed her words over and over again.

"Tidus... I need to talk to you seriously about Yuna." Said Lulu. Nothing good could come out of this. Last time I had an actual conversation about Yuna with Lulu, I was afraid that she was going to bite my head off or something. "Stay away from her." She said. I looked at her, confused. "Every time you're around her, she somehow manages to get hurt."

"I-I can't. I won't stay away from her." I said furiously. She rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a child Tidus, you know I won't put up with that bullshit." She said, just as furious as myself.

"I can't believe you're asking me to stay away from Yuna." I said, folding my arms and glaring at her. I tried to keep my composure as she did the same. _I can now see why Wakka never wins any fights against her._

"Well I can't believe that you're insisting on hurting her even more! What would you do if Yuna leaves us all once more because _you_ fucked up again?"

"_'If Yuna leaves us all once more'_ You know, you're being really selfish right now." I said, taking a step closer to her. She raised an eyebrow and stepped forward.

"And you're being a hypocrite. Yes, I'll admit to being selfish at the moment but I won't lose Yuna to another fuck up. Not again. Now stay away from her or else." She threatened. Genuine fear washed throughout my body as she spoke.

"I think we should let Yuna decide for herself whether she wants me around or not." I said, scared for my well-being but ready to fight for our friendship.

She scoffed, turned around and walked towards the door, stopping halfway. "There's only so much a person can take. Please Tidus. Just stay away from her." She whispered sadly. She opened the door and left me alone in the kitchen, thinking.

"Hey Lenne!" I froze in my spot at the sound of her name. "Did you sleep well?" Asked Yuna. I placed my hands on the counter and started breathing rapidly.

"Oh yes, very well." She said. "And Tidus?" She asked. I looked up towards the ceiling, cursing at myself for being such a dumb-ass.

"In the kitchen." Said Yuna, her soft voice helped me relax. The kitchen door burst open and I felt myself stiffen. Two hands wrapped around my waist and I felt Lenne place her head on my back. _Oh Yevon, please help me._

"Did you sleep well last night?" She asked smoothly. I unwrapped her arms from my waist and turned around to face her.

"I wouldn't know. I don't remember anything." I said as coldly as I could. I saw the pain blaze through her eyes.

"Nothing?" She asked sadly. I shook my head. She glared at me.

"Well you must have figured it all out when you woke up. What did Yuna say when you told her about us?"

"Nothing." I said. She smirked. She had me in the palm of her hand.

"So she wouldn't mind if I told her that we went all the way?" She asked, a mischievous look on her face.

"Excuse me?" I asked surprisedly.

"I said," She repeated loudly. "You wouldn't mind if I told Yuna that we. Went. All. The. Way."

"No. Don't." I pleaded. "Please, don't." She laughed sinisterly, and grabbed my hand.

"Then you are going to do exactly as I say..."

* * *

"I wonder what they're doing in there." I said, looking towards the closed kitchen door. I could hear their voices but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Relax and just watch Spongebob." Said Shuyin as he wrapped his arm around me. I blushed and laid my head on his shoulder, completely comfortable with the position I was in now. I started thinking about my last conversation with Tidus and I felt like I may have overreacted. I knew that we were eventually going to have to talk about it but instead of handling it like the adult I was supposed to be, I acted like an overemotional teenager. I _have _to talk to him. I _need _to talk to him.

The door to the kitchen opened and Lenne came out with a look of triumph. I didn't like it. I was going to have to talk to her later on demand to know what happened to the Lenne I knew and loved. Soon after came Tidus, carrying his own bowl of cereal and looking somewhat relieved. His eyes flashed over to mine and immediately looked away the second after. _What if he's mad at me?_ A look of worry etched itself onto my face and started biting my lip.

"Yuna? Is something wrong?" Asked Lulu, placing a hand on my arm.

"No, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" Everyone turned to look at me with concerned eyes, even Tidus.

"Because you look worried." Answered Lulu.

"Really? Well I was just thinking of the groceries. I don't think we're going to have enough items for dinner so I'm going to go to the Grocery store." I said, gently removing Shuyin's arm from around me.

"I'll go with you." Said Shuyin, standing up and grabbing his car keys.

"No!" I said, shaking my head. "I can go by myself, it's quite alright."

"Yuna, please. Just let me help." He said, giving me the most magnificent grin ever. My stomach suddenly tightened up, and I felt really nervous.

"O-okay." I said, giving him a weak smile and heading towards the door.

"Hold up. I'm coming too." Said Tidus, grabbing Wakka's jacket and walking towards me.

"Thanks." I said, giving him a smile. He nodded once and looked towards the door, narrowing his eyes. A huge lump formed itself in my throat and it took all of my willpower not to breathe deeply as I stared at my fingers. I opened the door and stepped outside, breathing in the moist air. I gave Shuyin my thanks after he opened the door like a gentleman for me and settled into his own seat. Tidus slammed the back door a little too hard and refused to put on a seat belt.

"Tidus, please put on your seatbelt." I said, glaring at him through the rearview mirror.

"No, I'm good." He said, looking out of the window.

"I wasn't asking you whether you wanted to put it on or not. I'm telling you to." I said. His eyes flashed towards mine and he glared right back at me.

"No." He challenged.

"What is with you today? Why are you being such an jerk? You know what, if you're just gonna be a pain in the ass then just get out of the car but if you wanna come with us then you're gonna have to put on your big boy pants and put the damn seatbelt on." I yelled, fully turned towards Tidus. He shook his head and put the seatbelt on, muttering profanities that I chose to ignore. I then looked towards Shuyin and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright then, off to the Grocery store!" I said in a shaky voice, completely sure that Tidus was mad at me now.

* * *

As we entered the cool building of the Grocery store I looked around the place, surprised that not much has changed other than the employees.

"Not much has changed here." I said, eyeing the groceries in the exact same place they were three years ago. Bread and Pastries – Aisle One. Junk Food – Aisle Two. Hygienic Supplies – Aisle Three and so on.

"Crap. I forgot my wallet in the car." Said Shuyin, turning around.

"Wait, it's alright. It's my house so I have to buy the groceries." I said, placing myself in front of the entrance.

"Alright, but we kind of used your parent's vodka last night and I don't think they'd be too happy to find out that we've gotten drunk and with their own stash nonetheless. Besides, I'm the only one who can buy alcohol anyways." Said Shuyin, giving me a smirk. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tidus stiffen. _What's his problem? _I nodded and walked towards the shopping carts, choosing one that didn't look like it would break as soon as I walked around with it. Tidus walked silently next to me and I hated it. Hated how every time something would happen he'd give me the silent treatment.

"Please don't do this anymore." I said after a minute or so. I grabbed two bags of chips and placed them inside the cart.

"Do what?" He said, a bit reticent.

"Let's not fight anymore." I said, stopping the cart and turning to face him. He looked at me with that same distant look he had whenever he looked at me... when I first returned to Besaid. "Just hear me out." I turned back and started pushing the cart, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall once more. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. Before the slumber party. You were trying to apologize and I acted out. I'm sorry. I hope you aren't too mad at me because of it." He looked at me, surprised. That distant look quickly disappeared.

"I'm not mad at you." I looked at him, confused.

"Well then why were you acting like... like a jerk?" I questioned him, wanting some answers.

"I just don't understand." He said, grabbing three two-liter bottles of Coca-Cola.

"Understand what?" I said, looking around for any more food we might need.

"How could you be friends with someone like Lenne?" I stopped in my tracks, thinking about his question.

"She's different now. She's not the Lenne I met in Zanarkand. The Lenne I know wouldn't be so... cold. She was never this mean towards me. She would always give me advice, she would always know when's something's up and she'd be the friendliest person you could ever meet. But now... it's like she's a total different person and I don't think I can put up with it. In fact, she's kind of pissing me off." I faced him. "So you were acting like that because you didn't like the fact that I'm friends with her?"

"It's... more than that, Yuna." He said, putting his hands in his pocket. I could see it in his eyes that this subject wasn't one that he didn't really want to talk about but I needed to know.

"Wha—" Shuyin came back, wallet in hand. "You took an awfully long time to get your wallet." I said, raising an eyebrow. _I'll talk to Tidus later._

"Yes," He turned nervous. "It's just that some girls started talking to me..." A surprised look settled itself on my face. "What," He said, clearly hurt. "You don't think I'm good-looking enough to get hit on by random girls?"

I covered my mouth, feeling horrible at the moment. "No! I didn't mean it like that, it's just..." He started laughing.

"I'm only kidding Yuna." I gave a weak laugh and started pushing the cart, mindlessly looking through the items. Shuyin and Tidus both trailed on either side of me, grabbing the things we may need.

"So Tidus..." Started Shuyin, probably wanting to start conversation. "Were you born in Besaid?"

"Nope." Said Tidus, popping the 'p' as he shuffled through a magazine he picked up. Shuyin didn't ask him anything else. I elbowed him while Shuyin was looking for the replacement vodka.

"Ow, what?" He whispered.

"Don't be such an ass, he's only trying to make a conversation." I harshly whispered back.

"Fine." He said, rolling his eyes. Shuyin didn't try and start another conversation and I knew that Tidus wasn't going to start one either so I continued to push the cart silently. We paid for the groceries and entered the car silently, it wasn't 'till we were halfway back home when someone started talking.

"How'd you manage to pay for this car?" Asked Tidus, rubbing his hands along the leather seats.

"Pretty sweet, huh?" Said Shuyin. "Got it as a graduation present last year." I stared out of the window, pretending that I was entranced by the environment. _At least they're talking that's a start._

"So this is your first year in college?" He said, sounding a bit more like himself now.

"Actually I decided to take a year off. I promised Yuna that we'd start our first year in college together two years ago... but now that she's gone and moved out on us we can't do that anymore, now can we." Said Shuyin. I turned to face him and smiled weakly when he was looking at me with warm eyes. Tidus stayed quiet. When we arrived at the house a couple of minutes later, an idea suddenly came to me.

I grabbed Shuyin's arm and whispered, "Can we talk?" Apparently Tidus noticed our hesitation as he turned around and furrowed his brow.

"Are you guys coming in or what?"

"We'll be right there, just need to ask him something... privately." I added when Tidus made no move towards leaving. He nodded once, grabbed a couple of the grocery bags and entered the house. Once the door shut, I told Shuyin to come a little farther away from the house. I didn't want anyone to hear us.

Once I was sure that we were all alone, I started talking. "Shuyin, I need to talk to you about Lenne." He gave me a confused look but nodded once. "I feel like she's a different person, like she doesn't really like me much anymore." He chuckled once and shook his head.

"Yeah, that's how she gets when she likes someone. I don't know if you've noticed, but Lenne has a little thing for Tidus." He explained.

"Yes, I've already noticed that but how does that affect her attitude towards me?" I asked, a little nervous for his answer.

"She looks at you as competition. You know how she is, she won't rest until she gets what she wants and what she wants, is Tidus." I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"So you're meaning to tell me that she's acting this way because she thinks I'm competing with her over Tidus?" I asked incredulously.

"Well I can see where she's getting at, I mean weren't you guys sleeping in the same bed two night ago?" Said Shuyin, a little distant. _So that's why she seemed a little out of it when she woke us up._

"Yes... but we've done that before, it's not like we were doing anything." He raised his eyebrow.

"Lenne told me that she found you on top of Tidus... did you guys do that before as well?"

"Uh—oh—no, but that was an accident. I move around a lot while I'm asleep." I explained.

"It's alright, you don't have to explain it to me. I believe you." He said, raising his hands. "Well she's jealous of you. I mean, you guys look really comfortable next to each other, you guys look happiest when you're around each other. I've never seen you more radiant before... not even when we were together." I gasped and looked down.

"Shuyin..." I said, unable to look at his face right now. _What's he getting at? Why is he talking about this?_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pounce on you like that. I was just remembering the days when we were together... they were really just some of the happiest days of my life." He said, giving me a sad smile.

"I wasn't... in the best of conditions back then Shuyin."

"I know Yuna. Which is why I don't get how you're in love with that guy. I mean, he hurt you so much yet you still love him. How is that?" My heart started racing. I looked up at his face, which had a mixture of remorse and sadness.

"Shuyin, he is... _was_ my best friend. I'll admit I love him, but like a brother. Nothing more. Sure he hurt me, but that was because of someone else's doing." I said sadly.

"You're right. I'm sorry for telling you these things it's just that... I care about you a lot Yuna. You know?" He said as he wrapped his arms around me.

"... I care about you a lot too Shuyin. More than you think." I replied, wrapping my own arms around him. I really needed a hug more than I thought. We released each other and walked towards the door, carrying the groceries left over. I smiled. _So does this mean that Shuyin likes me? _It felt like there was something inside of me that sprouted. It felt like I found the feeling I've been searching for ever since that one incident. The feeling you get when you find someone you could rely on, someone you could talk to and not worry about being judged. I liked that feeling. I liked it a lot.

We opened the door to the house and I was immediately attacked with a bear hug. Lenne placed me down by the floor and looked at me with sheer joy.

"Guess what Yuna? I've decided to move here, to Besaid! Isn't that great? Now you, Shuyin and I can go to college together!" She shrieked, jumping up with excitement.

"Yeah..." I said weakly. "Just great." _Yevon, give me strength._

_

* * *

_

**Author's Note**** - So here's Chapter Twelve. It's up faster than I thought it'd be but I'm glad. This chapter really isn't that interesting, mostly just explanations but I hope you guys can catch some hints as to what may come in the future.**

**Also, I'd like to dedicate this story to Reckless Dreamer Yuna. If you're reading this, then know that Redemption is now dedicated entirely to you. Thanks a lot for your support.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X or the characters. Just the plot.**

**Chapter Thirteen - Until Tomorrow will be out next week. Thanks for reading! It really means a lot to me guys.**

**-- Shattered Images**


	13. Until Tomorrow

**Redemption**

_I climb, I slip, I fall_

_Reaching for your hands _

_But I lay here all alone_

_Sweating all your blood_

_If I could find out how_

_To make you listen now _

_Because I'm starving for you here_

_With my undying love and I_

_I will_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause there's no hope for today_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause maybe there's another way_

_I climb, I slip, I fall_

_Reaching for your hands_

_But I lay here all alone_

_Sweating all your blood_

_If I could find out how_

_To make you listen now_

_Because I'm starving for you here_

_With my undying love and I_

_I will_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause there's no hope for today_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause maybe there's another way_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause there's no hope for today_

_Breathe for love tomorrow_

_'Cause maybe there's another way_

_I climb, I slip, I fall_

_Into your empty hands_

_But I lay here all alone_

_Sweating all your blood_

_

* * *

_

Chapter Thirteen – Until Tomorrow

_We opened the door to the house and I was immediately attacked with a bear hug. Lenne placed me down by the floor and looked at me with sheer joy._

"_Guess what Yuna? I've decided to move here, to Besaid! Isn't that great? Now you, Shuyin and I can go to college together!" She shrieked, jumping up with excitement._

"_Yeah..." I said weakly. "Just great." Yevon, give me strength._

"This is so sudden! Where are you gonna live?" I said, looking back and forth between Shuyin and Lenne.

"Well we've been planning this ever since you left us in Zanarkand." She replied holding up a magazine filled with houses for sale. She pointed a nice house that looked strangely familiar. "You see, that's the one we're gonna buy!" It had a soft coral coat outside of the house and a simple but nice black gate surrounding it. The door was elegant, I had to say, and the windows were just magnificent! They had little intricate designs on the top half of the window and they were all tinted a nice greenish-black. They somewhat reminded me of Tidus' tattoo sleeve.

"How are you going to afford the house? It looks expensive." I inquired. I looked at the information of the house and almost yelled when I saw the price. "150,000 gil!"

"Both of our parents have been saving up for our colleges and aside from out tuitions, we've found that we have more than enough money to buy a house here in Besaid." Explained Shuyin, giving me an innocent smile.

"Was this your surprise?" I asked Lenne. She nodded vigorously. I could tell that she wanted to tell me this for a while. "Well that's great! Where is it? You're gonna have to take us there!" I said, getting ready to leave the house again.

"We're right across the street!" She said, opening the blinds. I looked outside and felt a little stupid for not noticing this before. _I didn't know how I felt about them moving to Besaid. There was the good side of having two of my best friends back and then there was the bad side... Lenne. Well maybe I could try and change her back! This whole moving scenario may not be such a bad thing after all!_

"Well that's just great." I said, hugging Lenne and Shuyin together. I then turned towards everyone else, who had uncomfortable looks on their faces. "So how about sleeping over again?" Wakka and Gippal exchanged disappointed looks.

"As much as we'd love to Yuna," commenced Gippal. "Wakka and I have Blitzball practice early in the morning and we need our rest." Wakka looked at his watch.

"In fact, we kind of need to leave right now." Continued Wakka. Both Gippal and Wakka stood up and bid everyone farewell. We all clapped and whistled when Wakka and Lulu kissed as it was something that's not bound to happen often and applauded when they both left.

"Well I'm gonna go take a shower." Said Tidus. "I'm smelling a little ripe." He bounded up the stairs and disappeared into the hallway.

"I think I'll go and take one too." Said Shuyin as he took off his shirt and made a face after he smelled it. My willpower wasn't enough to stop my eyes from trailing down his chest and _Oh! He's got a six-pack! _Lulu cleared her throat and captured my attention before Shuyin noticed anything. I watched his back as he walked towards the bathroom and closed the door silently.

"So... you and Shuyin!" Squealed Rikku. I shushed her and looked away, positive that I was blushing. "Aw, don't do that Yunie. I saw how you were drooling over him." I blushed even harder.

"So Lenne," I said, turning all the attention on her. She was thinking about something... again. "How are you going to finish the rest of your high school year?" I asked, positive that Lenne couldn't have also registered herself into school as well. She raised her eyebrows.

"You don't remember? I've already taken the necessary courses to finish my senior year during the summer. So basically, I've already finished school." She said, heading towards her room. She closed the door and I could hear her start her stereo, singing along.

"Yunie... can I tell you the truth?" Said Rikku, eying the door Lenne just went through. "How can you be friends with someone like her? She's so... mean." She finished.

"She wasn't always like this." I said, looking Rikku in the eye. "But I'm taking the advantage of having her around to try and change her back. I know that if she was back to normal then you guys would like her." I said, looking towards Lenne's room.

"Right. See Lulu?" Nudged Rikku. "I _told _you Yunie would never be friends with someone like that!" Lulu smiled and shook her head.

"Yuna, now that it's just the three of us... I think it's time that we talked." Rikku's happy-go-lucky face suddenly turned into a serious one. "Well for one thing... I see you finally overcame your bulimia situation. Have you noticed that you haven't even thrown up in a long time?" Questioned Lulu, I thought about it and realized that she was right. I haven't thrown up for a while.

"Yeah. I guess it's because I don't really have a reason to anymore." I whispered, smiling brightly. I saw Lulu's smile turn into one of guilt. "What's wrong Lulu?" She looked up at me with eyes of regret.

"I'm sorry Yuna. I'm sorry that I couldn't have protected you better." She said.

"Me too Yunie." Whimpered Rikku. I grabbed both of their hands and gave them a little squeeze.

"You guys are the most magnificent friends anyone could ever ask for. There's nothing to be sorry about." Rikku suddenly giggled and covered her mouth.

"Have you guys noticed that Lenne has a crush on Tidus?" Lulu and I started laughing at Rikku's randomness but nodded our heads. "What I don't get it how she never made a pass at Shuyin. I mean, he looks a lot like Tidus. Just like how you look a lot like Lenne too." That remark made me think but not about Lenne... but about myself. _Maybe that's why I liked him so much._ Lulu's laughter faded and she was suddenly wringing her hands.

"Alright Lulu. You're gonna tell me what's the matter now." I demanded, giving her the hardest stare I could manage. She tucked her lower lip under her teeth and exhaled through her nose.

"Do you... love Tidus?" She asked, giving me a pleading look. I smiled and gave her the same answer I gave Shuyin.

"Yes I do," She closed her eyes. "But like a brother. I could never imagine myself starting a life with Tidus. Or even having a romantic relationship with him." She opened her eyes and looked relieved. "Why? What would you have said if I told you I actually _was _in love with him?"

She took about a minute to think of her answer. "I probably would ask you if you were out of your damn mind." Rikku and I started laughing. "Because he's not right for you. You deserve better than him. No please, let me finish." She added when I opened my mouth to speak. "He's caused you a lot of pain... and whose to say that he won't cause anymore in the future?" I didn't say anything because I knew she was right. I've been having a weird feeling since this morning. Like there's something coming... something bad.

"Well you're not gonna have to worry about that Lulu because I, Yuna Vie, am in no way interested in dating Tidus Curateur." Rikku and Lulu both sighed breaths of relief and exchanged glances with each other. I could tell that this is something that they've talked about before.

"Yuna," Came Tidus' voice from upstairs. "Do you have any other towels? There's nothing up here!" I slapped my forehead with my palm and shook my head.

"I'll be right up! Just hold on!" I grabbed a towel from closet next to the downstairs bathroom and went upstairs, exchanging dreading looks with Lulu and Rikku. I knocked on the bathroom door and closed my eyes. I heard the door open and the towel was taken away from me. I opened my eyes once again when I heard the door slam.

"Thanks Yuna. You're the best." I heard him say aside from all the shuffling inside the room.

"You're welcome." I said as I walked back down the hall. I walked downstairs and right towards Lulu and Rikku, who were deep in conversation. As I was about to sit down, my stomach decided to make an appearance. I looked at the both of them and gave them a nervous smile. "How about I make us some dinner?" They both nodded in agreement and followed me into the kitchen.

"Since there's nothing else to do I guess I'll just help you out Yunie." Said Rikku as she pulled out the large pot and filled it with water. Lulu rolled her eyes and started taking out the cups and plates, setting them neatly around the dining table. I dug through the grocery bags and pulled out the Ragu Pasta Sauce and the precooked pasta.

We all gathered around the steaming pot and started talking about what color I should paint my room. I've been wanting to do that for a while now... white just seems a little dull. Rikku was insisting I paint it a orange-creamy color but Lulu insisted on painting it black with purple accents. Lulu's idea appealed to more than Rikku's did so I just decided to please the both of them.

"How about I paint my room black," I saw Rikku's face drop. "With orange-creamy accents." She smiled, clearly thankful. Lulu made a face of approval and stirred the pasta.

"Something smells good in here." Said Tidus as he burst through the kitchen door. He approached the pot eagerly and took a big whiff.

"Hey!" Piped Rikku. "If you're gonna stay in the kitchen you could at least help out!" Tidus shrugged and grabbed a salad bowl.

"You guys are just standing there hovering over the pasta and no one has even thought of making a salad?" He said in false shock. We all glared at him until he finally broke. "Alright alright. I'll do it just relax." He said nervously. He took the bagged salad from a grocery bag and started mixing it in with different oils and adding the occasional squirt of lime.

"Okay, pasta's done." Said Lulu, grabbing the strainer and holding it over the sink. Rikku lifted the pot and poured the remnants into the strainer. "Yuna can you pass me a plate from the table?" I retrieved the plates and held each of them out so Lulu could place a bit of pasta on each. Rikku then grabbed each filled plate and poured a healthy amount of Ragu on it. Tidus then placed a small amount of the most delicious looking salad next to the pasta. I looked over at him, impressed.

He shrugged his shoulders and said that he helped his mother with the salad when he was younger. I felt horrible for making him tell me this. He took no notice of my change of emotion and continued serving the salad.

"Oh! Before I forget." I went to a grocery bag and pulled out a loaf of garlic bread. "We're going to need this." I took a knife with a jagged blade and started cutting the bread, unsuccessfully. I heard someone laugh and before I could turn around and tell them off, the knife was snatched out of my hand.

"Here, let me do it." Laughed Shuyin. He shook his head as he cut the bread in perfect, smooth slices. He placed the slices of bread in a small basket and settled it in the center of the dining table. "Where's Lenne?" I furrowed my brow.

"In her room listening to music... you couldn't hear her?" He shook his head. "Hm, she must have fell asleep or something. I'll wake her up." I said as I exited the kitchen and walked through the living room.

"Yes, I bought the house already, hold your horses. Damn." I heard her say harshly. _Who is she talking to?_ If it wasn't against my morals to eavesdrop then I would have continued to listen but since I'm me...

"Lenne, dinner's ready." I said, knocking at the same time. I heard her curse and drop something. _What the Hell is she doing in there?_

"Al-alright. I'll be there in a sec." She said nervously. I looked at the door confused. Something's up with her but do I really wanna find out what? _She's your friend... it's your duty to help her out if she has any problems. _What if it's something she doesn't wanna tell me? _Then she has truly changed. The Lenne from Zanarkand would trust you with everything. _I nodded determinately. I waited until she exited her room to start talking to her.

She jumped at the sight of me standing outside of her door. "Oh, Yuna. You scared me. It's rude to eavesdrop you know." She said coldly, crossing her arms. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't worry Lenne, I didn't hear anything." I lied. "I was just trying to be a good person and let you know that dinner is ready no thanks to you. You could have at least offered to help with something like Shuyin did." She rolled her eyes.

"Save me the sermon Yuna." She walked past me and into the kitchen.

"Bitch." I muttered under my breath. I would have told her off right then and there but I had to put up with this attitude if I was going to try and change her back. _What is with her? Does she find me _that _threatening in her quest for Tidus? _I huffed and followed Lenne's path into the kitchen, where she was currently flirting with Tidus. He was giving her a half smile and running his hand through his silky smooth hair. She turned her head towards me and smiled. I gave her a sarcastic one back and headed towards the refrigerator. _Just relax Yuna. This is just a phase. It'll all go away soon, just deal with it for now._

I grabbed a bottle of soda and headed towards the table, where everyone started taking their seats. Lulu sat on one side of me and Shuyin sat on the other one. Lenne sat on the other side of Shuyin and next to Tidus who had Rikku on his other side. That meant that Tidus and I were directly across from each other, which is exactly what _someone _wanted to happen on purpose. Everyone grabbed the soda and started pouring a decent amount into their own cups.

"Alright." Said Rikku, clapping her hands. "Let's dig in!" We all took our first bites at the same time but instead of eating the spaghetti, I took a bite out of the salad. It was heavenly... it was... amazing. It was the perfect blend of oils and lime. I moaned in pleasure, which seemed to catch everyone's attention.

"Having some naughty thoughts over there Yunie?" Asked Rikku, looking at me like I've grown another head or something. I blushed and looked down at my plate.

"No... it's just that the salad is really good." I said, looking up and at Tidus. He gave me a weak smile and took a bite of his salad. He made a face of disapproval.

"Meh, it could have been better." He said. I looked down, hurt. Lulu's hand wrapped itself around my wrist and gave me a light squeeze. I looked up and met worried eyes. I shook my head and smiled at her, showing her that everything was fine.

"Yuna." Started Shuyin. "How's Besaid going for you now?" I was relieved that the subject changed but all eyes were still on me. Crap.

"It's going pretty good so far... some things could be going better but the rest is fine." I smiled at him. "But now that you're here my presence in Besaid should be much more easy-going." He chuckled and softly punched me in the shoulder.

"Well I'm glad to help you in any way I can, Yuna. You know that." Said Shuyin, looking me straight in the eye. I loved how I felt around him, so at ease, so protected. Even though I could defend myself to an extent it felt nice to know that someone else can do it for you. I smiled dreamily at him and almost forgot that we were at the dinner table. Tidus cleared his throat and brought me out of my trance.

"Right," I said, placing all of my attention to my food now. "Thanks Shuyin. I'm glad I can count on you." I took another bite. Of the spaghetti, mind you. The rest of the dinner was spent quite normal after my little salad incident except for the occasional shrill laughter that came from Lenne at some of Tidus' half-ass jokes.

Five hours later we were all huddled in the living room, watching re-runs of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Rikku was snoring lightly and Lulu was breathing quite loudly. Tidus was nodding off and Lenne was at his feet, flipping through a magazine.

"I think I'm gonna head on to bed... four hours of television sure wears me out." Said Shuyin, yawning as he stretched. He bade Lenne and I a good night and left the living room, leaving us both alone. Well somewhat alone.

"So Yuna..." Started Lenne, not taking her eyes off the magazine. "Does Tidus live with you?" I could see him open an eye, he put a finger to his lips when he caught me looking.

"No, he's just staying here for a while." I answered, fiddling with the remote in my hands. I saw her close the magazine from the corner of my eye.

"And why would that be?" She demanded. I rolled my eyes.

"Ask him yourself, he's right there." I nodded towards him.

"I did." She stated through clenched teeth.

"Well if he doesn't wanna tell you then why should I? It's not my job to tell the life of someone to other people." I said, flipping through the channels. I saw Tidus shake his head softly.

"Tell me Yuna, what's your relationship with Tidus? Are you guys involved with each other or something?" She asked. Her tone of voice changed from one of harshness to one of worry. I stopped my channel surfing and faced her. Tidus was now looking at me too, waiting for my answer.

"We're just friends Lenne. H-he's like a brother to me." I stammered. Lenne's face changed into one of relief but Tidus' face... he looked... disappointed. Well what did he expect me to say? That I was madly in love with him and that she needs to get her damn paws off of him? "You like him a lot... don't you?" I asked in a small voice. She turned to me and nodded, her eyes watering.

"I don't know what to do Yuna... everything I try doesn't work. I like him so damn much it hurts. But it seems like he... only has eyes for you." I blinked in surprise as soon as she said that. He did the same. I walked over to Lenne and kneeled down in front of her.

"Lenne... you can't just flirt with a guy and expect them to like you instantly. Give it time. I mean you've only known Tidus for three days. It's not like much can happen in that little time." I said, taking her hands off of mine. She gave me a sly smile and patted my hand.

"Thank you Yuna. You're a true friend." She bit her lip and looked towards the floor. "I don't know what I'd do if you weren't around." I gave her a hug, happy to see that the Lenne I knew was finally making an overdue appearance. I looked up at Tidus, who had a furious look on his face. He shook his head and yawned. Lenne's head snapped up towards him and she let out a sigh.

"Oh, you're awake! Here, I'll walk you to bed." She said, standing up and offering him her hand. I've got to say that he was an exceptional actor. He played the part of a drowsy man well.

"Alright." He yawned. "As long as you sleep with me again Yuna." He continued, taking her hand. My jaw dropped. _Did he seriously just call her Yuna? He's not even drowsy! _She stifled a sob and dropped her hand. "What's wrong Yuna? Why are you crying?" Lenne raced into her room, covering her face as she sobbed uncontrollably. I looked at him, outraged. He smiled joyfully and put his hands on his hips. I slapped him with all the force I could muster.

"Ow!" He whispered. "Why'd you do that for?" He placed his hand over his red cheek.

"How could you play with her emotions like that? You know how much it would hurt her if you did that to her." I said harshly. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh the things you don't know Yuna. Can't we please discuss this tomorrow? I'm really tired." He whined, offering me his hand. I glared at it.

"You know what, you can sleep by yourself just like last night, I'll take the floor again." I said, sitting down on the couch. Tidus looked like he wanted to say something but shut his mouth. He crushed his lips together and stalked up the stairs, making sure to make as much noise as possible. I tried waking up Rikku unsuccessfully and gave up, deciding that she'd sleep on the couch again. I placed her body into what looked like a comfortable position and placed a blanket over her. I then managed to wake up a grumpy Lulu and usher her towards the one-seater, placing a blanket over her as well.

I sighed and grabbed the last blanket, my jacket, and laid on the floor placing my legs to my chest in an attempt to stay as warm as I possibly could. I turned off the television and stared into the darkness, thinking of how harsh Tidus was towards Lenne. _How could someone be that mean towards a girl? Especially one who has such a bad experience with guys. He's so... cold-hearted. _My mind also wandered to dinner time, when he hurt me... once again. _How much longer is this going to continue? Because I don't know if I can handle his little mood-swings anymore._

_

* * *

_

_I was walking down the aisle of a Temple... the Besaid Temple it looked like. People were scattered across the benches and looking at me. I looked straight ahead and made eye contact with Shuyin, who was at the end of the aisle wearing the most breathtaking smile ever. I smiled back and only now just realized that my vision was being blurred by some kind of white film. I tried to shake it out of my way but it seemed like I had no control over my body._

_Suddenly, the words 'Wedding' popped up in my head. I finally reached the end of the aisle, where Rikku, Lulu, Lenne, Wakka, Gippal and Jecht were all waiting for me. All of them wearing identical grins on their faces. My hand raised on its own accord and placed itself directly on Shuyin's outstretched one. We both turned and faced the priest, who began to recite the traditional speech of matrimony._

"_Is there anyone here who thinks that these two should not be wed? Speak now or forever hold your silence." Said the priest gravely._

"_I do!" Came a faint voice. I turned around and looked around for the person the voice belonged to. There were gasps and whispers as Tidus walked down the aisle in a tuxedo. He stopped halfway and looked at me directly in the eye. He was crying. "Yuna," He said. "I love you and I know you love me. I'm sorry for everything I've done. But please, don't go through with this." He pleaded, getting on his knees. I raced towards him and helped him stand back up. Three men appeared next to me and grabbed him, dragging him down the aisle and through the exit._

"_Yuna! You know this isn't what you want! Don't do it!" Yelled Tidus. Everyone was silent until his cries were too faint to hear anymore. I sank to the floor and balanced myself with my hands._

"_How could you hurt me again... how could you ruin my wedding?" I cried as the tears fell down from my eyes and onto the floor._

_

* * *

_

My eyes suddenly flashed open. I sat up instantly and looked around the room. _Hey... this isn't the living room. This is... Shuyin's room!_

"First Tidus and now Shuyin? Wow, you sure don't waste any time."

* * *

**Author's Note**** - So here's another chapter! Quick update, eh? Well I've got nothing to say about this chapter other than, "It's finally finished." It's 3:20 in the morning and I just finished it. Whoo! P.S -- This is the longest chapter of the story. Whaat?! Hope to write more longer chapters for the future.**

**Plus, the lyrics posted above belong to the song Breathe (Until Tomorrow) and it's by Paramore. It's such a beautiful song and I highly recommend you listen to it while reading this story... although I don't know why I'm telling you this when you've probably already finished reading the chapter. Well for the future then!**

**Anyways, keep in tune! Chapter Fourteen - Six will be posted up. All That Remains, also a good band to listen to. Just sayin'.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Final Fantasy X or the characters. Just the plot.**

**Thanks for reading and please, please, PLEASE review. They help me update faster.**

**-- Shattered Images**


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